


I Can Jump... No!

by AlekWalker, ozhawk



Series: The Soulmates Continue [10]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Clint is a sneaky bastard, Dubious Consent, F/M, Guard May, Masturbation, Masturbation in Shower, Natasha likes to micromanage, She also likes to Matchmake and provide goodies, Shower Sex, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Ward is seriously disturbed and fucked up in the head
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-15 07:36:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 82,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3438947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlekWalker/pseuds/AlekWalker, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ozhawk/pseuds/ozhawk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye/Clint Barton</p><p>SkyeHawk</p><p>Disclaimer: Marvel owns all characters in this fic.</p><p>Continuation of Ozhawk's Soulmate Shorts</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Can Jump... No!

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Soulmate Shorts AKA The Crackship Armada](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2658407) by [ozhawk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ozhawk/pseuds/ozhawk). 



> Theme Song:  
> Mike And The Mechanics: All I Need Is A Miracle
> 
> This Chapter is ozhawk's original chapter. Chapter Eighteen from her Soulmate Shorts

                                                                                                                

 

“Coulson, I’m trapped!” Skye shouted.

“Where are you, Skye?”

“Still in my sniper perch on the top level, but the Hulk smashed the ladder on his way past and now I can’t get down!”

This mission had been a total crapshoot. Skye silently cursed Coulson under her breath; _why_ hadn’t he checked in with Maria Hill, their Avengers liaison, before coming out here? Now they and the Avengers were on the same mission at the same damn time with two totally different plans, and the whole thing had gone straight to hell.

“I don’t suppose I could beg a lift off Iron Man?” Skye whimpered a bit hopefully. The whole structure of the catwalk she’d been perched on – taking out HYDRA agents with her sniper rifle very handily until the explosions started going off – was starting to shake in a very unnerving way. The only flaw in her plan was that Iron Man had zoomed out five minutes ago and not returned.

“I see her, Coulson, I’ll take care of it,” a low, calm voice said over the com.

 _Who the hell was that?_ Skye felt the catwalk begin to shake even harder – the Hulk was smashing stanchions down below – and retreated, grabbing onto a beam that looked more stable than most.

She was just in time. The catwalk dropped from beneath Skye’s feet, and she clutched frantically at the beam, suddenly dangling by her arms, unable to keep from letting out a panicked scream.

“Here!”

She turned her head to see a man coming at her, swinging from a steel cable, one arm outstretched to grab her. She twisted towards him and reached out a frantic hand as he got close. He landed lightly against the wall, bracing on the soles of his feet, and slipped his arm around her waist.

“I got you, sugar,” that low voice said in her ear. “Just hang on tight.”

Skye flung her arms around him as he pushed off again. He had black tactical gear on and she grabbed onto a strap across his lower back. She didn’t speak; if she did she might shock him into letting go, and frankly her own hands were shaking too much to trust her grip just now. Instead she clung on tightly, putting her head against his chest and shutting her eyes as they dropped.

“I’ve run out of cable; we’ve got to drop,” he shouted then, “just hang on to me, I’ve got you.”

“I can jump…” she opened her eyes and saw they were still at least twenty feet up. “No!” but it was too late, they were falling, and he was twisting in mid-air to make sure he landed underneath her…

“HAWK STUPID!”

They never hit the ground, and Skye opened the eyes she’d shut in horror, thinking that her soulmate was just about to sacrifice his life for her without even knowing that she _was_ his soulmate.

Hulk’s giant hand deposited them safely on the ground together. And Skye looked up into Clint Barton’s startled blue-grey eyes. Coulson was shouting in her ear, asking if she was all right, but she couldn’t hear anything except the pounding of her heart.

 

 

His arm still locked tightly around her waist, he raised his free hand and traced a gentle finger across her cheek. His hand was trembling slightly, Clint was a little horrified to notice. But then, he’d just come damn close to sacrificing himself for a girl he didn’t even know. All he knew was that Coulson valued her, and therefore she must be important. _How_ important, he could never have imagined.

His _soulmate_. This young, beautiful girl with her dark eyes and tumbling dark hair, skin as soft as a ripe peach, was _his_ soulmate. _I can jump… No!_ had appeared on his inner arm on the night of his very first performance in the circus as The Amazing Hawkeye. He’d been twelve, and the burning sensation on his bow arm had almost – but not quite – thrown off his aim. He’d wondered, back then in his long-lost youth, if she would be a trapeze performer or something like that.

“You’re _Hawkeye_ ,” her stunned whisper startled him from his trance.

“And you’re my soulmate,” he replied, “but right now we really need to get the hell out of here.”

She followed him blindly, trusting, as he raced through a maze of fallen girders and burning equipment, twice stopping and turning to boost her over obstacles she’d have struggled to climb on her own. And then at last they were bursting out into the open air, taking in great gulps to fill smoke-ravaged lungs.

“Skye! Skye, report!” Coulson sounded near-hysterical over the com. Clint thumbed his own on.

“She’s all right, Coulson, I got her. Smoke inhalation, but we’ll both be fine. We’re outside the southwest corner of the building.”

“Thank God,” he heard Coulson’s sigh of relief. “Take care of her, Barton, we’ll be there shortly with medical assistance.”

“Always,” he said softly, “she’s my soulmate.” He didn’t bother to listen to whatever creative curse Coulson would come up with in response to that bombshell. Just pulled his com from his ear and moved closer to his soulmate. _Skye. Her name was Skye_. She looked up at him from her soot-smudged face and smiled.

“May I kiss you?” he asked, and her smile widened.

“Considering your reputation for doing whatever the hell you like, Agent Barton, I’m surprised you bothered to ask.”

“I don’t care what other people think of me,” he shrugged. “Only what _you_ think.”

“I think I’ll be very disappointed if you _haven’t_ kissed me before my team get here.”

“I shouldn’t care to disappoint a lady,” he murmured, before slipping his arm around her again, dipping his head. She reached up to close the distance between their lips eagerly.

They were kissing so passionately when Jemma found them that she had to cough loudly twice and then shout Skye’s name to get her attention.


	2. Collision Course

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my first chapter in the continuation of Clint/Skye that begin in chapter eighteen of ozhawk's Soulmate Shorts

 

“Skye!” Jemma shouted after coughing loudly not once but twice, why on earth was she entangled in the stranger’s arms - oh would you look at those delicious muscular arms - _No Jemma, focus,_ she mentally berated herself. Right now Skye needed her to be professional, not some drooling fangirl.

Giving up on trying to separate them the polite way, Jemma walked up and soundly slapped one those muscular arms, before reaching out to grab Skye’s wrist as she muttered “Smoke inhalation can’t have been too serious then.”

Skye blinked and grumbled as her newly found soulmate pulled back from the kiss and she found herself suddenly tugged backwards by her wrist by a worried and grumbling Jemma, who she suddenly realised was talking to her.

“Huh, what?”

The low rumble of laughter from behind her had Skye turning her head to look at Clint, who really wasn’t trying very hard at all to contain his amusement at her confusion.

“Really Skye, Coulson calls me over the comm and tells me to grab the med kit and rush here because you had smoke inhalation. I get here only to find you making out with a hot muscly guy,” Jemma stopped and looked around Skye before letting out a wistful sigh.

That little sigh from Jemma made Skye tense albeit briefly - even though she knew deep down Jemma wouldn’t make a move on him when she found out he was her soulmate - she still couldn’t help the brief flash of jealousy that had flared.

“I’m sorry? I may have gotten a little carried away with greeting my soulmate.” Skye admitted a little sheepishly as she scuffed her combat boot against the ground.

“Your what!” Was it her imagination or had Jemma just _squeaked_ that out?

Skye spared a glance back to Clint who was still chuckling under his breath as he crossed his arms – oh dear God those arms, those delicious muscular arms that made her just want to sink her teeth into one of those biceps – over his chest.

When Skye managed to drag her gaze upwards her dark chocolate eyes locked with bemused blue-grey ones, she knew she’d just been caught staring at his broad chest and well muscled arms when one brow arched upward as his mouth curved into a boyishly cheeky grin.

“I didn’t know you had a soulmark.”

Jemma had leaned in to whisper and Skye couldn’t help it when her mouth curved into a teasing grin as she turned her gaze from Clint to Jemma’s face to say just loud enough for Jemma to hear “I do, it’s just not in a place I like to show off.”

Skye watched Jemma’s face scrunch in confusion as she worked to puzzle it out, she could tell Jemma was mentally trying to picture her from when she’d been on her death bed, replaying when she’d treated her to recall if she’d seen her mark.

She knew the moment Jemma recalled having seen part of her mark when her friend’s cheeks reddened slightly, Skye had to bite down on her lower lip not to laugh at Jemma’s embarrassment and simply said “Exactly.”

 

Clint had been silently watching the two women, he’d managed to stop his chuckling at Skye’s confusion after he’d caught her staring at his chest and arms. He found himself unable to wipe the cheeky grin off his face and was still wearing it when Coulson – sneaky bastard that he was – managed to sidle up beside him.

“Coulson….”

Before he could say anything more he found himself slapped soundly across the back of his head, reaching up to rub at the back of his head with a muttered curse he turned his attention to Coulson – who was currently looking every inch a pissed off father figure – he got the distinct impression he was in big trouble here.

“I seriously hope that you were being your usual smartass self with that soulmate quip, Barton.” He could see the hope in Coulson’s piercing blue eyes and suddenly felt a pit of dread growing in his stomach.

“I wasn’t. She’s mine.” Clint’s gaze turned back to Skye as the fairer woman was checking her over, he heard the older man’s weary sigh so turned his focus back to his former handler and asked “Why do you seem to have such a problem with this?”

Clint studied Coulson; the other man’s expression was one he’d seen many times before as he mentally processed information and sorted out what to share.

“She’s had a hard life Barton, the last thing she needs is yet another arrogant bastard in her life thinking he knows what’s best for her. And before you even ask, no I’m not going to tell you more, that’s not my story to tell.”

“Since when have I been the manipulative arrogant type? Come on, Phil, you know me better than that, I have a real problem with authority figures and I sure as shit don’t intend to try and be one, especially not with my soulmate!”

Phil bit his lip, looking at Clint, and finally nodded. “I’m just warning you. The day you try to make Skye do things your way is the day you lose her.”

The two men eyed each other for a moment, and then Clint tilted his head in acknowledgement. “Thanks for the tip.”

“Aaaand it’s time to quit this party!” Iron Man landed close by with a clunk. “Coulson, what the _actual_ fuck? I thought we’d agreed that you guys would check in with Maria before operating in New York State to avoid just this kind of clusterfuck! Are all your people all right? Bruce just found out some of them were in there before he Hulked and has gone completely to pieces.”

Coulson winced. “I thought Maria meant just New York _City_ ,” he said apologetically. “We’re all the way up in Syracuse…”

“In which case let’s get all our butts back to the Tower and thrash out just where our fucking operating areas are,” Tony said, flipping up his face plate and looking at Skye and Jemma, who were both gazing at him with not a little awe on their faces. “And you can introduce me to these two very beautiful women, hello _ladies_.”

Clint inwardly groaned at Tony’s sudden switch in personality – going from business to pleasure in under sixty seconds had to be a record somewhere – he could almost see the battle occurring within Skye as though she wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or annoyed with the billionaire.

As Tony gave Skye and Jemma an exuberant bow and wink Clint couldn’t help but roll his eyes, stepping up behind Tony he thumped on the back of his helmet and quipped, “Then you best get moving Stark, it’ll take you a long time to get that ego of yours through the door.”

Waiting until after Tony dropped his faceplate and took off Clint shook his head and closed the distance between him and Skye, hooking one of his calloused fingers under her chin he tilted her head up to look down into those dark eyes of hers.

“This is either going to sound extremely possessive or very insecure but I don’t want you out of my sight. So I’d like you to come back with me?”

He was giving her the choice whether to come with him or go with her own team – though if she chose to go with her team he wasn’t entirely sure what he’d do, he really didn’t want to let her out of his sight now that he’d found her – dropping his hand from beneath her chin he held it out towards Skye waiting for her decision.

 

Skye blinked not once but twice as she stared into those enigmatic blue-grey eyes, shaking herself from her reverie she spared a glance to Jemma and Coulson before sliding her small hand into Clint’s larger one. As their fingers entangled and he guided her away she called back over her shoulder “I’ll see you guys there?”

She did her best to keep up with Clint’s long strides but occasionally she failed miserably and wound up either stumbling or on one occasion falling rather ungraciously face first onto the ground – or she would have, if he hadn’t caught her, holding her close to him for a long moment before shaking his head to clear it and moving on quickly.

As they approached the quinjet Skye’s gaze darted around quickly assessing the area, as they made their way up the ramp and into the jet she froze suddenly when five sets of eyes turned almost simultaneously to lock upon her.

She felt rather like a deer in the headlights – except instead of one car oncoming there was two cars and three trucks – unable to move Skye swallowed thickly as her dark eyes jumped between the other occupants.

Suddenly feeling extremely small and seriously out gunned Skye had to draw on every calming technique May had taught her just to keep from turning tail and running in the opposite direction.

What person in their right mind wouldn’t feel a little overwhelmed when in the presence of not one but _two_ war heroes and super-soldiers, a drop dead gorgeous former Russian spy and master assassin, a war veteran with a penchant for flying – _without a plane_ mind you – and a seemingly gentle and shy man with serious anger issues that made him change into a giant green smashing machine.

She’d read the files – granted Coulson would probably have a fit if he knew she’d read the files, but she’d been curious about their new allies – but it was one thing to read about them, it was another thing entirely to suddenly be subjected to their scrutinising stares.

This was definitely one of those occasions when she wished her power had been invisibility, Skye wasn’t entirely sure when she’d let go of Clint’s hand but she was seriously grateful when his larger body suddenly appeared in front of her blocking her from the rest of the Avengers views.

“Who’s the doll?”

It was hard to miss Clint’s broad shoulders as they stiffened at that comment nor his fists clenching, hell if she knew who’d said that she’d have likely smacked him soundly upside the head herself, though going by the dated reference of the term _doll_ she was going to assume it was either Captain America or Winter Soldier who’d said it.

Which led her to the next thought of _when the hell did the Winter Soldier join the good guys_? _He_ wasn’t in the files on the Avengers, or he wasn’t when she’d looked.

“My soulmate, now move out of our way and leave me the hell alone to fly.”

Clint’s brusque tone made Skye blink and peek curiously around his arm in time to see the group part. A large hand unexpectedly settling on her back did not make her jump – that was her story and she was sticking to it dammit, May would kill her if she found out Skye had been distracted in unknown territory – guided her towards the cockpit.

When Clint gestured to the co-pilot’s chair she settled into it, but before she could even think to fasten the safety harness Skye found herself staring into those blue-grey eyes as his large hands brushed over her breasts in order to secure the straps.

 

That really hadn’t been his smartest move, the moment his hands had brushed over her breasts – even through her shirt and jacket – he’d seen Skye’s reaction as her pupils briefly blew wide before her tongue darted out suddenly to lick her lips.

The only thing that had kept Clint from fastening his mouth to Skye’s and kissing her senseless was the audience in the rear of the jet – as well as the fact he knew Natasha was standing right behind him – forcing himself upright he did allow himself the luxury of pushing a loose strand of long dark hair back off her face and tucking it behind her ear.

As he settled into his seat and began the pre-flight checks his blue-grey gaze drifted to Natasha – as she sat her ass down upon one of the instrument panels – her emerald gaze silently questioning him.

Looking past Natasha, Clint could see Skye watching them, her brow furrowed – he wasn’t sure whether it was in thought or confusion though – as her dark chocolate eyes drifted between them briefly before she eventually twisted slightly in her seat to look out the window as he began their ascent.

“Tasha, get your ass off my instrument panels and into a seat, I won’t be held responsible if you end up face planting.” He didn’t look at his partner, but he heard her soft sigh as she stood and headed back to join the others. He was sure she had a million questions, but even Natasha was going to have to wait this time.

Once he had them airborne Clint set them on the course home to the Tower. He knew his friends were going to have questions, hell Skye’s own team would probably also have questions but he was hoping those questions could wait until after he’d a chance at some alone time with Skye.

His eyes slid across to her and he caught her watching him. For a long moment they stared at each other before a beep caught Clint’s attention and he had to look back at the controls.

 _Pay attention, Barton_. His soulmate was distractingly beautiful but now was _not_ the moment to let his attention waver. Instead, he concentrated on taking the jet up to its maximum speed, getting them back to the Tower as fast as possible.


	3. White Elephant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to Ozhawk for being such an awesome beta and person in general. I honestly don't know where I'd be without her (probably still only a couple of chapters into Fate's Arrow if I think on it).

                                                                                           

_This just seemed so Clint._

 

Admittedly Skye knew jack shit about how the whole soulmate thing actually worked, in fact she’d only ever known one pair of soulmates and that was Bobbi and Hunter – not really the best example given the way they were always fighting like cats and dogs or fucking like rabbits – but she’d seen the way they were always sneaking glances at each other or casually touching when they thought that no one was looking.

Well, that wasn’t entirely accurate actually, Cal – she refused to call that psychopath her father, not after what he’d done to Coulson – had told her during her captivity in San Juan that he and her mother had been soulmates and that he’d changed after her death. _Yeah, went psycho,_ Skye thought glumly.

It did make her wonder if there was some sort of chemical pull between soulmates, though. That would explain why she couldn’t seem to stop sneaking glances at Clint as he piloted the quinjet. On more than one occasion he’d caught her looking too and that damn wicked grin that would curve his mouth was doing disastrous things to her peace of mind.

She was definitely going to need some girl time – preferably with copious amounts of alcohol involved – at some point to try and get some answers. Jemma was so smart, so educated – she must know something more about soulmates than Skye did. And May had seen a lot of the world too… Skye had been so distracted by her own thoughts that she hadn’t even realised that they’d landed until Clint’s voice sounded by her ear.

“You planning on coming out of the clouds any time soon, Skye?”

Her name rolling from that wicked mouth had a shiver cascading down her spine, fumbling with the restraint Skye was shocked to notice her hands were shaking. When she finally managed to unfasten the restraints Skye hastily pushed herself out of the seat and stepped out without lifting her head to look.

Not that she got far as she wound up almost smacking into a solid wall of muscular chest – at least she thought it was muscular, it was really hard to tell through the tactical vest he was wearing – bracing her hands against the vest she chanced a peek up just as a throat cleared off to the side.

Snapping her head suddenly in that direction Skye’s gaze landed on the Black Widow of all people – and here she thought the Black Widow was terrifying from _reports_ , actually having her standing there, arms crossed, staring intently, was a whole other ball park of terrifying – swiftly pulling her hands back Skye side stepped away from Clint’s grasp and beat a hasty retreat past the deadly red head.

 

Levelling an unimpressed glare at Natasha as Skye fled from him, Clint scratched idly at one brow before he brushed past Natasha without a word. As he made his way down the ramp he could see Skye standing off to one side of the hangar close to the elevator.

A part of him – albeit a jealous, possessive part – was glad to see she’d distanced herself from the rest of his team who were all still watching her a little too intently for his liking.

From what he could see of her body language Skye appeared tense and uncertain, as though something was suddenly weighing heavy upon her. Stopping at the base of the ramp he watched as she crossed her ankles and slid effortlessly to the floor settling into a lotus position – which he only knew the name of because he’d witnessed Natasha in it so many times he’d eventually caved and asked what the hell she was doing – he assumed she was trying to relax or rebalance her centre.

Whatever she was doing he could see the change almost instantly as the tension in her body started to unwind, Clint was vaguely aware of Natasha telling him Coulson and his crew were a few minutes out and simply grunted an acknowledgement.

He was aware of Coulson’s quinjet arriving in the hangar several minutes later and turned his attention to the team disembarking, both brows shooting upwards as not only May but Bobbi as well exited the jet.

“Fuck Coulson, I knew you were rounding up SHIELD’s stray agents but I didn’t know you’d wrangled yourself the Cavalry and Mockingbird.”

May’s long suffering sigh reaching his ears made his lips curve into a wry grin at the same instant that Bobbi flipped him off before turning her attention to the slightly shorter man – who it took Clint a good minute to recognise as Hunter – as he limped up beside her.

“Wait, wait since when could you two stand to be on the same continent as each other?”

A whack to the back of his head had Clint turning to glare at Natasha only it wasn’t Natasha that had done it he soon realised when he found himself instead staring at Skye who had her arms crossed over her chest – which had his gaze lingering slightly longer than was probably appropriate on her breasts – a throat clearing was followed by Skye’s voice a moment later.

“May really doesn’t like to be called that. You really are a reckless idiot aren’t you?”

“Your reckless idiot, now.”

 

The goofy grin that formed on Clint’s face had Skye rolling her eyes as she blew out an exasperated breath. What was it with most of the men in her life being unstable? There was her lying money hungry ex Myles, her creepy stalker ex Ward, her psychopath of a father, even Coulson and Fitz, and to a degree Mack and Hunter weren’t entirely stable, in fact the only stable male role model she’d had had been Trip – God rest his soul – and now her soulmate seemed to be teetering on the edge too.

Skye’s dark gaze moved to rest upon Bobbi and Hunter as she crossed to join her team, as much as the pair fought it was obvious they loved each other – not that she’d ever admit it but Skye was just a little jealous of what the pair had – they were two sides of the same bat-shit crazy coin.

Making her way to Jemma, Skye hooked her arm through the scientist’s with an exhausted sigh as they all made their way towards the elevator, when the doors open Skye knew everyone wasn’t going to fit in one trip.

What she hadn’t expected was for Coulson, Fitz and Mack to go in the first trip with the other Avengers, Clint of course had apparently decided to hang back and ride up with her, May, Jemma, Bobbi and Hunter.

This wound up with her receiving pointed looks from May and Bobbi while Hunter was just looking baffled and more than a little exhausted as he leant back against the elevator wall.

“Okay, well to address the white elephant in the room, or rather the Hawk in the elevator, it has recently been discovered that Agent Barton…..or is it former Agent Barton? Well to cut a seriously long story short he’s my soulmate, any and all questions can please wait until later, preferably after several shots of Vodka.”

Jaws dropped as Skye finished speaking. And then May, Bobbi and Hunter all said with horrifying simultaneity “Oh you _poor_ girl!”

They quite drowned out Jemma’s sigh of “Lucky thing.”

“I resent that!” Clint said loudly.

“I am very much horrified as to why the three people in this elevator who actually know you had that reaction!” Skye rounded on him and he winced.

“Because he’s a reckless idiot,” Bobbi said coldly.

“He doesn’t follow orders,” that was May.

“He shot me in the arse!”

“He’s so hot, though,” Jemma sighed, almost inaudibly in Skye’s ear. Then they both looked at Hunter. “Wait, what?”

The elevator doors pinged open.

Skye honestly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the conversation that had just occurred, while Hunter’s admission had her leaning towards laughter – she could also see that Bobbi was trying desperately not to laugh – she also found herself a little concerned about the reactions of May and Bobbi, whom she very much respected.

 

“Hunter, we had an agreement to never speak of London again.”

Clint stalked out of the elevator – after levelling a glare at May, Bobbi and Hunter – to follow after Skye, not that he made it that far as the rest of his team moved in to block his path. As his gaze drifted around the team he noticed Maria, Tony and Pepper had joined the group.

“I didn’t know you had a soulmate, Barton. Did any of you guys know that?” Steve said quietly.

The chorus of _No’s_ seemed to echo in Clint’s ears, and he sighed. It’s not like he deliberately didn’t tell them; the mark on his arm was easily seen when he had his shirt sleeves rolled up, if you were looking.

“I did.”

That came from Bucky and Clint couldn’t help but incline his head to his fellow sniper, they’d discussed this very topic at length at times when neither of them could sleep and were on the gun range. He’d been surprised when Bucky had admitted that he too had a soulmate somewhere, but the fact they shared that along with both being snipers had allowed them to begin building a friendship.

“I never thought he’d actually find her.”

Natasha; always the pessimist but Clint still loved her – like a sister, despite what others seemed to think of their partnership – and hoped that one day she’d get over her whole _love is for children_ philosophy. He smiled at his best friend, noting the concern in her eyes.

“It didn’t seem important, at least not until I found her. And I certainly didn’t expect to find her in the middle of a battle, or that she’d be part of SHIELD.”

Looking past the group he could see Skye by the window with one hand resting upon the large pane of glass, as he watched he had to force himself to blink several times as the pane of glass beneath her hand appeared to start _vibrating_. It couldn’t be possible, he had to be seeing things.

“Skye, stop that before you shatter Stark’s window.”

As May’s voice carried he saw Skye jerk her hand away from the glass and drop it suddenly before glancing back over her shoulder sheepishly – he got the sudden impression that if Coulson was Skye’s father figure then May was definitely her mother figure – there was obviously something about Skye that Coulson’s team knew and weren’t sharing with them and he definitely intended to find out what that was.

When everyone settled around the common area’s lounge Clint flopped into the vacant arm chair. His attention focused on the discussion for all of five minutes until Skye sat herself down on the arm of his chair and draped one of her arms along the back. His attention completely detoured from the conversation the moment Skye’s fingers began idly stroking through his hair, closing his eyes he focused solely on the sensations of her ministrations. That was until her breath brushed his ear as she leant in to whisper;

“You do know that you can’t keep going and trying to throw your life away to save complete strangers right? You’re Hawkeye, the world needs you.”

There was no way in hell he was going to have this conversation in the middle of both of their teams – whispered or not – subtly inclining his head towards the kitchen across the spacious room he pushed out of the chair and crossed the distance with a casual ease.

 

Slipping from the chair Skye went to discreetly follow Clint – at least she thought she was being discreet right up until she caught Jemma and Fitz both looking at her with raised brows – when she slipped into the kitchen her dark eyes scanned the room.

Barely containing the startled yelp as she found herself turned and hoisted onto one of the counters Skye blinked as Clint wedged himself between her legs with his hands resting at her waist so that they were face to face.

“You were a stranger, that’s true, but you’re important to Coulson. This meant you needed to be saved, if I’d known beforehand that you were my soulmate I still would have done the same damn thing.”

Skye brought one hand up to lightly slap Clint’s forehead as she sighed and quietly muttered;

“You’re worse than Trip, and I lost him because he pulled a stupid ass move trying to save me.”

As Clint tensed and his grip tightened on her waist Skye was pretty sure she could hear a low growl rumbling in his chest as his blue-grey eyes darkened, sending a chill down her spine.

“You’re already involved with someone?”

His voice was harsh and Skye mentally kicked herself when it suddenly occurred to her that he was jealous and had obviously misinterpreted what she’d meant.

“No! I mean there have been a couple of guys in the past but well let’s just _not_ go there right now. Trip was part of our team, his grandfather was one of the Howling Commandos and he was like a brother to me, the one little fraction of stability I had in my insane life.”

Bringing both her hands up to cup Clint’s cheeks Skye leant forward to rest her forehead against his as she continued.

“He got himself killed a few months ago trying to save me, the stupid idiot, since as it turned out I didn’t need saving. Then today, today I find out _you’re_ my soulmate and within a matter of minutes you almost kill yourself trying to save me.” Skye had vowed that she wouldn’t cry again but between the memories of Trip’s death and the thought of Clint having almost died to save her she could feel the tears welling in her eyes.

“You’re a _hero,_ Clint, the world _needs_ Hawkeye to stand with the Avengers, sometimes that means you have to make the bad calls that someone might not walk away from. You can’t save everybody.”

Forcing her eyes closed Skye sighed quietly and was surprised when she felt Clint’s lips brushing over her eyelids.

“I don’t think I could make that call if you were involved.”

The blunt honesty in the roughly spoken words twisted like a rusty knife in her gut, the thought that he’d put her safety above millions of others was both humbling and down right fucking scary.

“You might not have a choice, I’ve walked the hero path before and sometimes the events that play out are beyond anyone’s control. Look at what happened with New York?”

When his chin settled on her shoulder as he grumbled and his arms slid around her waist, Skye wrapped her arms round his neck and hugged him briefly as she considered her next words carefully.

“You have to trust me to be able to look after myself; I’m not some china doll you can keep locked up on a shelf. You’ve worked with May before obviously, seen her in action, trust that she’s taught me well.”

Clint sighed. “If the Cavalry trained you, that’s one thing. But she didn’t teach you _everything_ you’ve learned, did she? I saw that little trick with the window pane.”

Skye stiffened in his arms, and he leaned back to look in her dark eyes. “You don’t have to talk about it right now, not if you don’t want to. But we’ve learned the hard way in this team that secrets get people killed.”

“I’ve learned that too,” Skye said almost inaudibly. “I’ll tell you – all of you. But not yet, please? They’ll look at me differently once they know – _you’ll_ look at me differently…”

He kissed her. He’d meant it only to be a reassuring kiss, telling her that no matter what she told him, it would make no difference. She was still his soulmate. But the instant he felt her soft lips under his again, every rational thought flew out of his head, erased by the driving need for _more_.

Slender legs wrapped around his waist and Skye moaned into his mouth as he deepened the kiss. Clint growled low in his chest as she deliberately ground her crotch against his swelling arousal.

The kitchen light snapped on, bathing them both in sudden stark brightness. Clint jerked back, instinct leading him to grab for the gun still holstered on his thigh, the only thing stopping him from drawing it Skye’s slim hand landing on his arm.

“Do all your team have shit timing about interrupting people?” he groused, seeing the huge black guy who’d come with Coulson’s team standing there with arms folded.

“ _Mack_ ,” Skye reproached. “Now? Really?”

“I can see I’m going to have to make sure all surfaces in the Tower are properly disinfected, too,” Mack rumbled, raising a pointed eyebrow at the kitchen counter Skye was sitting on. She couldn’t help but blush at the remark.

“We weren’t…”

“Yet. Coulson sent me to get you, Skye. The meeting’s breaking up, for now. We’ll debrief properly tomorrow, but Banner’s asleep on his feet and Hunter needs medical attention.”

Clint grumbled as Skye slipped from his arms. “Wait! You’re not leaving, are you?”

Mack shook his head, eyes on Clint’s. “Stark’s invited us all to stay for the night, at least.”

“Good,” Clint murmured, suddenly aware that he was sweaty, sticky and filthy dirty inside his combat suit. A long, hot shower was definitely in order. “I’ll find you later, beautiful,” a calloused finger caressed lightly over Skye’s cheek, and then he was gone, leaving quickly to avoid any further interrogation from his team. He didn’t want to deal with that right now. Or face the shovel talks he was quite sure would be incoming from Coulson and May, at the very least.

 

 **Side Note:** Also I have numerous variations of Clint roaming around in my head so I decided to throw a poll up on my fanfiction profile [here](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4097711/KennaWynters) listing the variations currently residing in my head to see what, if any people would be interested in seeing. If you have any suggestions you want added feel free to drop them in a comment.

 


	4. Best Laid Plans

                                                                            

 

Banner was indeed just about asleep on his feet, Skye saw, slung ungracefully between Captain America and the Winter Soldier as they hauled him out. Hulk transformations obviously took a lot out of him. And Hunter’s limp was markedly worse as Jemma and Bobbi fussed over him, leading him to the elevator, the AI telling them that it would direct them to the medical facility.

“Come on,” May came to Skye’s side. “Stark’s arranged quarters for us, and Natasha is sending down clean clothes for you, me and Jemma to wear. Let’s go get cleaned up. And then she’s promised to bring down that vodka you were hoping for.”

“Thank God, today has been….I want to say hectic but I’m not sure that covers it. She’s Russian right? Which means she has a taste for the good vodka not the shit stuff?” Skye asked hopefully as she fell into step with May easily.

“She used to, I doubt it’s changed.” May said succinctly.

Glancing sideways Skye saw the way May was watching her studiously before one delicate brow arched questioningly as she so obviously took in Skye’s dishevelled appearance and probably swollen lips – Clint was nothing but thorough when he kissed – shifting restlessly under May’s gaze once they were in the elevator she finally spoke.

“What?”

“I know what’s going on in that head of yours Skye and I’m telling you right now, it’s not happening.”

Sometimes Skye wondered if May _needed_ to be listed on the Asset Register as she’d swear sometimes the older woman was psychic, crossing her arms petulantly Skye leant back against the wall of the elevator and braced one booted foot against it with a humph.

Bobbi’s sudden chuckle and Jemma’s soothing strokes along her upper arm were not helping her current sullen mood, grumbling under her breath Skye let her gaze drift to the rest of the team who all seemed to be looking at her.

Coulson’s stern disapproving father face was back in place, Mack mostly looked frustrated that she was going to be giving him _more_ cleaning duties, Fitz….well lovable Fitz just had these big puppy eyes wide with excitement which she was sure had more to do with the fact he was in close proximity to Tony Stark, while Hunter – well at the moment he just looked exhausted, pained and seriously fucking filthy.

“Why do I get the feeling if chastity belts were still in use I’d currently be in the process of being sized up for one?”

“Because you probably _would_ be, trust me Skye, I’ve been where you are and that pull to your soulmate is hard to resist.” Bobbi said quietly.

“Not that she ever resisted the pull between us, mind you.” Hunter muttered wearily which made Skye chuckle quietly and shake her head slightly.

“You two are the worst fucking example I have to go by you know, you two are either at each other throats or ripping each others clothes off!” Though Skye could definitely understand the reasoning behind the latter, she barely knew Clint and yet while he’d been kissing her she’d been shamelessly grinding herself against him.

As her thoughts wandered into seriously dangerous territory something in her expression must have changed because suddenly Skye found herself rubbing at her ribs after Jemma had elbowed her.

“As I said Skye, _not_ going to happen.” May stated flatly as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked pointedly at Skye.

When the elevator doors dinged open Skye watched silently as Jemma and Bobbi half dragged Hunter out of the elevator to follow the bodiless voice of Stark’s AI – which was seriously awesome and Skye found a sudden urge, other than the one for Clint’s body, blooming in the back of her head to get her hands on the AI’s programming – as the doors closed.

The next time the doors opened was apparently to the floor they were going to be staying on so Skye hung back letting the rest of the team head out first, eventually pushing herself off the wall she made her way out into the guest suite and blinked.

From what Skye could see the main portion of the floor was an enormous open lounge, kitchen and dining area before splitting off into two hallways, which she assumed led to the bedrooms.

Skye decided to follow after May down the left hand hallway, stopping behind the other woman as she glanced in one of the doors Skye let out a low whistle.

“Stark really doesn’t do things by halves does he?”

She assumed each room was the same, with a floor to ceiling window, gigantic bed against one wall with the opposite wall housing a walk in robe and luxurious ensuite bathroom. Moving on past May, Skye peeked into one of the rooms at the end of the hall to see if anyone had claimed it.

When she was sure it was unclaimed she stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind her, as tempting as that bed looked she was dying for a shower, she felt seriously gross as she was sweaty and grimy from the earlier battle and now to top that off she could throw in seriously aroused.

Heading into the bathroom Skye pulled her sidearm from the holster, flicking the safety off she placed it within reach of the shower, unfastening the holster’s belt and the strap around her thigh she dropped it onto the floor.

Crouching to unfasten the laces of her boots she started peeling off the filthy layers as she straightened to kick her boots off, when all her clothing was in one massive dirty pile on the floor Skye stepped into the large shower and started the water waiting until the temperature was right before stepping under the cascade of blissfully hot water.

While Skye considered the Playground home its water pressure and heat seriously _did not_ compare to that of the Tower’s, so she simply stood for the longest time under the cascade of heated water letting it work the tension out of her aching muscles.

Eventually she reached for the shampoo in the rack and lathered up her hair, as the shampoo soaked into the grime and grit Skye reached for the soap to hastily lather the rest of her body up before stepping back under the spray of water to rinse off.

Shutting the water off Skye reached out of the shower to grab a towel from the rack, wrapping it around herself as she stepped from the shower she stopped suddenly, her gaze darting swiftly around the room.

She was sure she could hear a strange beeping noise, grabbing her gun from the counter and wearing only a towel – thinking that it was a good thing this floor was currently only occupied by those she considered family – she opened the bathroom door and moved into the bedroom leading with her gun.

As Skye approached the bedroom door she realised the beeping was getting louder and more frantic, swiftly opening the door to the hallway she almost shot the poor adorable defenceless robot loitering in the hallway that started waving a bag in her direction.

Looking along the corridor, she saw several similar robots beeping outside other doors; one rolled back past her, relieved of its burden. Cautiously, she reached out and took the bag.

 

The last thing Clint had expected when he’d stepped off the elevator onto his private floor was for Natasha to be there ahead of him, leaning against the breakfast counter of his austere, sparsely decorated living area.

He knew the moment he saw her face that his shower was definitely postponed, he’d learnt from experience when Natasha wore that particular look she’d set her mind on something – in fact the last time he saw _that_ particular look was when she’d gotten it into her head that it’d be a good idea to start setting Steve up on random dates. The look probably didn’t bode well for him, but then you never knew with Tasha – crossing to the counter he propped himself beside her.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Tasha?”

“You do know May won’t let her out of the suite, right? And I’m pretty sure when I left Coulson was trying to convince Pepper to lock down the floor of their guest suite after we leave.”

In all honesty Clint had expected that, if he were in Coulson’s shoes he’d be keeping someone as young and beautiful as Skye away from someone as old and tormented as he was.

Sighing Clint shook his head regretfully, deep down he’d known he probably wouldn’t be able to spend any alone time with Skye tonight but actually hearing it from your best friend was entirely another matter.

“Not a lot I can do about that though, I had figured they’d do something like that, they’re trying to look out for one of their own and I can’t fault them for it.”

“Well,” Natasha said tartly, “I can and I will. Sex is a perfectly normal, healthy thing between two consenting adults, and Skye’s not a child. She’s your soulmate, too, and in my not-at-all-humble opinion, keeping you two apart is tantamount to cruelty.”

Clint blinked.

“So I’m going to fix it.”

“What is with this unbearable urge you have to matchmake everyone up?” Clint said, bemused. “You keep saying love is for children…”

Natasha gave him one of her Looks. “It is. You are all children. Clearly I have to manage you.”

He wasn’t touching that with a ten-foot-pole. Especially since it seemed she might actually be on his side. “So you have a plan, then…?”

Natasha smiled. “Certainly.”

She told him.

Clint tried, and failed, not to become instantly and totally aroused. Natasha politely ignored it – he wasn’t aroused by _her_ , after all – and turned to leave. Just before she stepped into the elevator, she glanced back at him and tapped a key on her phone.

“Oh. By the way. This is the dress I’m sending Skye to wear.”

His phone pinged, and he looked down at it as the elevator doors closed behind his partner.

                                                                                                

_Never let it be said Natasha doesn't have taste, nor know how to torment her partner._

 

“Oh, fuck, Tasha!”

He would swear he heard Natasha’s soft laugh lingering as he headed towards his bathroom, his hands already working to peel of his sweaty, filthy grime covered tactical vest.

Dumping it and his shirt on the bathroom floor Clint unfastened his weapon’s holster and set it on the counter, reaching into the shower he turned the water on before crouching down with a slight groan to unfasten his boots.

Kicking his boots free he hastily unfastened his pants and shoved them and his shorts down to kick them off, breathing a sigh of relief as the constriction on his achingly hard cock eased.

Clint inwardly cursed Natasha; he’d been semi hard when he’d stepped off the elevator and between hearing her plan and seeing the dress she was putting Skye in…..well he was only human and his body had reacted as any red blooded male’s would have.

Stepping into the shower and closing the door he moved beneath the water, he pointedly ignored the persistent throb of his thick arousal instead grabbing the soap from the rack on the wall and lathering himself up with soap.

Not that his efforts lasted that long, while he was rinsing the soap off his mind detoured from the task at hand to picturing Skye in that damnable little black dress of Natasha’s.

Lathering one of his large calloused hands with soap he braced his other arm against the shower wall, closing his eyes at the same time as his soapy hand closed around his heavy arousal Clint pictured Skye’s lean pliant body and everything he wanted to do to her as he began stroking himself, seeking release.

It didn’t take long at all for him to reach his breaking point with images of Skye writhing beneath him in his mind’s eye; combined with the friction of his soaped up hand Clint came hard with Skye’s name a throaty groan slipping from him as hot spurts of his come shot free and swirled with the water down the drain.

When he was finally able to force himself out of the shower Clint grabbed one of the towels and quickly dried off before fastening it around his waist, he knew how Natasha, Pepper and Maria got when they were drinking so knew if all the women were going to be drinking he probably had an hour or two to kill before he heard from Natasha.

Moving back into his bedroom he caught sight of the small bag on his bed with a note in Natasha’s scrawled handwriting that simply said _For Skye_ , dropping heavily onto the bed he reached for the bag to examine the contents.

When he saw the jeans, shirt and underwear within he silently thanked Natasha for thinking to provide Skye with _suitable_ clothing for the morning, though upon the discovery of the box of condoms Clint honestly didn’t know whether to worship the sultry Russian or be completely astonished by the fact she _knew_ what size he used.

 

Skye had been brushing her hair and trying to pull it back when the knock had sounded at her door over a couple of hours ago, when she’d answered it –while tugging down the damn skirt of the dress she was wearing – she hadn’t expected to find the collection of women outside the door all of whom were wearing jeans and shirts.

May had looked at her with a critical gaze right up until Skye had sighed and explained the dress was the only clothing she’d received from the robot, thankfully her mentor’s gaze had then turned to Natasha with one brow arched upwards.

The redheaded Russian had, to Skye’s astonishment, waved May off casually with the hand holding the bottle of vodka as she sauntered into the room with a sly wink in Skye’s direction.

So for the past few hours Skye had been sitting awkwardly at the head of the bed with a throw blanket across her legs – she’d long since tired of warring with the skirt to stay down at a suitable level and given her lack of underwear beneath the dress she really hadn’t wanted to flash the other women – listening to horror stories from Bobbi, May and Maria about Clint’s reckless behaviour.

About an hour ago however Natasha had flipped the subject to his sexual prowess which had caused Skye to look at her strangely until the Russian had muttered _My God, no, not me!_ Though apparently given the looks she’d received from May, Bobbi, Pepper and Maria none of them were happy with the change in conversation.

“Romanoff, _don’t_ encourage her with tales of Barton’s sexual prowess. We’re trying to keep her mind off that,” May stated flatly with agreeing murmurs from the majority of the other women……well everyone really agreed with that _except_ for Skye herself, Jemma and apparently Natasha who had pursed her lips before topping up everyone’s shot glass. Again. It was hellishly good vodka, too.

When everyone had filed out a few minutes ago Skye had heard Pepper murmuring something about a lockdown, however before she could learn more a hand lightly gripping her shoulder drew her attention to its owner.

Cocking her head curiously at Natasha, Skye blinked curiously; the vodka having left her with a pleasant buzz thrumming through her system, she got the distinct impression the Russian seductress, spy and master assassin was trying to silently tell her _something_ but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out what.

So Skye had been pacing her room for the past ten minutes, she was still aroused from Clint’s earlier kiss in the kitchen and the vodka apparently had fuelled it more so she came to the conclusion that Natasha had been secretly trying to tell her to go to Clint.

Tugging the damned skirt down _again_ to mid thigh Skye made her way to the door and silently opened it, she’d hoped she could sneak out but those hopes were dashed when she spotted May propped up against the wall across from her door with a pillow and quilt.

“Go to bed, Skye.”

“Come on May, I’m not tired yet. Can’t I just go and talk to Clint for a little while?”

Skye knew she was pleading but in the time since she’d parted ways with Clint in the kitchen she’d become restless, antsy and her skin felt highly sensitive to _everything_ it touched. Her lack of underwear and Natasha’s remarks about everything from the strength of Clint’s arms to how magnificent his ass was – a fact _none_ of the women had disputed – really hadn’t helped.

“No, because I highly doubt you two will end up _talking_.”

Blowing out an irritated breath Skye stepped out into the hallway regardless, closing the door behind her and turned to head down the hallway, not that she got far as May shot to her feet blocking her with one of those brows arched and a stern expression on her face.

Throwing her hands up in exasperation – after she’d tried to get around May that is – Skye sighed softly as she asked;

“Can I at _least_ go to the kitchen to grab a couple of bottles of water to drink overnight so I don’t wake up with a hangover in the morning? And for God’s sake you don’t need to sleep outside my door – I _promise_ I won’t leave my room again tonight, how’s that?”

Skye was at least thankful May consented to that – even though it meant May escorted her to the kitchen and then back to her room – closing the door behind her Skye flipped the lock on the door and padded silently through the darkened room.

The only light in the room currently came from the moonlight through the floor to ceiling windows, Skye set the two large bottles of water on the night stand before crossing the room to settle herself in the leather chaise lounge that was sitting by the window.

                                                                                               

Originally she’d intended to simply sit and enjoy the spectacular city night view but the moment that damned skirt rode up another idea entirely flashed into Skye’s head – if she couldn’t touch Clint and vice versa then she could damn well touch herself while thinking of him.

Settling into a comfortable position Skye let her hand drop to her right knee and skimmed it round to trace her fingers along the jagged scrawl of Clint’s words up her inner thigh.

As her wandering hand travelled the rough lettering higher towards her crotch Skye let her eyes drift closed, her mind almost instantly visualising Clint’s rugged good looks, those broad shoulders and muscular arms, what she assumed was a well defined chest that tapered into lean hips and strong thighs.

Skye had already known she was turned on, but she hadn’t realised exactly how much until her fingers encountered the dampness between her thighs, gliding her fingers through her folds up to her clit she stroked, teased and even pinched the small bundle of nerves with a breathy sigh.

Sliding her fingers around the nub one last time she ventured back down to easily slip two fingers into her moist entrance, it didn’t take her long to fall into the familiar rhythm as she sought a relief to the slow pressure building within her, arching her back as she increased the quick strokes of her fingers Skye was unable to contain her breathy moan;

“Clint.”

Clint could barely breathe as he watched Skye touch herself. He’d dropped in through the air vents just as she’d left the room; pressed his ear against the door and heard her speak to Agent May, so he decided to wait. Unsure if May would come in with her, though, he’d hidden in the shadows, planning to reveal himself once May had gone and any surprised sound Skye let out wouldn’t be overheard.

And then she’d flung herself down on the lounge chair with a frustrated little sound, the tiny dress Natasha had given her riding up around slender thighs, and put her hand in between them. The moan of his name was the last straw and he’d be damned if he was going to let his soulmate finish without his help.

 

 **Side Note:** If you haven't already and would like to have input into my next story idea please check out the poll listed [here](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4097711/KennaWynters). I do have one idea currently in the process of being mapped out for the current lead option that Ozhawk has been graciously helping me solidify into a coherent non-jumble.


	5. Ready, Willing and Able

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is seriously smutty, I have no excuse other than Clint made me do it! I also couldn't resist the interruption at the end which will lead into the following chapter.
> 
> There was a fitting Theme Song for this chapter that I listened to non stop while writing it which is Avril Lavigne's Hot

_ _

_Please enjoy a shirtless Clint picture and hopefully he's not **too** distracting that you completely forget to read the chapter._

 

Crossing the room silently on bare feet Clint was unable to tear his gaze away from the sight before him; of all the possible things he could have imagined he might find Skye doing _this_ had definitely not been one of them. Stopping by the side of the lounge he eased down to sit on the edge of the chair, reaching out to place his large hand gently over her mouth so she was unable to scream as he leant in to whisper filthily by her ear;

“You called, sweetheart? Let me take care of that for you.”

He saw Skye tense briefly as her dark eyes flew wide with shock, as he watched the shock fade from her eyes it was replaced by a wicked glint and before he had any idea that Skye was even up to something Clint felt her tongue glide along the palm of his hand that was covering her mouth.

Clint let his free hand settle at Skye’s ribs briefly before it began to skim its way down her side, his knuckles brushing along the length of her arm as he followed it lower, until closing his hand about her wrist Clint tugged Skye’s small hand away from her slick core.

Guiding her hand up to his mouth Clint grinned down wickedly at Skye, as her pupils blew wide he took her slim, juice slicked fingers into his mouth sucking ravenously as his own hand moved deftly to replace hers between her thighs.

He was surprised at how easily his thick calloused middle finger slid into her heated channel to replace her two, as his tongue curled and stroked along her fingers his thumb began a slow, teasing caress of Skye’s clit.

Clint felt her soundless moan against the palm of his hand even as Skye’s back arched off the soft leather, pressing his thumb down firmer against the bundle of nerves he slid his index finger in to join the middle, crooking them slightly Clint began exploring, looking for the tiny ridge of flesh that would push her right over the edge.

It was hard for him to miss the moment he found what he searching for as Skye’s teeth nipped sharply at the palm of his hand, at the same instant her hips rolled to grind against his hand.

Feeling Skye’s inner muscles slowly closing in around his fingers, Clint groaned quietly around her fingers still buried within his mouth as he began to thrust his two fingers into her slick core not only harder but faster, crooking them to brush that little ridge of flesh unerringly each time.

Letting her fingers slide from his mouth Clint dropped his head down by her ear to murmur softly;

“You going to come for me beautiful girl?”

The hum Clint felt vibrate against the palm of his hand he took as acknowledgement, sliding his hand from her mouth he was rewarded by an inaudible whimper as his hand slid beneath Skye’s head lifting it from where it rested, enough for him to crash his mouth down on hers forcefully.

Skye’s hips jerking up into his hand was Clint’s only warning that she was climaxing. He groaned against Skye’s mouth as he felt her inner muscles clamp down firmly on his fingers.

 

As she was slowly coming back to earth from that unexpectedly mind blowing orgasm, Skye was vaguely aware of Clint’s free arm sliding beneath her back to slide her across the chair a fraction so that he could stretch out on his side beside her.

When Clint finally extricated his fingers from within her still quivering core it sent a whole new series of ripples coursing along Skye’s nerves making her visibly shiver, rolling onto her side to face him she quietly studied his face, half illuminated by moonlight.

“So….uh thanks for the hand? But how did you get in here exactly? Not that I’m being ungrateful or anything. Because that was seriously the _best_ orgasm of my life.”

Skye shut up suddenly when she realised she was babbling, feeling the burn in her cheeks she was also pretty sure she was blushing so tucked her chin into her chest to avert her gaze.

Clint’s low chuckle by her ear did strange things to Skye’s insides and set all her nerves aquiver, before she could focus on that though his hand was curling under her chin to turn her gaze back up to his as he murmured;

“You’re welcome to my hand whenever you want it beautiful. I’m glad to be of service, but if _that_ was the best orgasm of your life to date I’m going to have to rectify that situation.”

Biting her lip in order not to burst out laughing Skye shook her head as her shoulders began shaking in silent laughter, the wicked glint in Clint’s eyes as his mouth curved into a smile had fire rekindling in her loins as he pulled her body flush against his as he continued speaking in that low murmur right by her ear.

“As for how I got here, well that’s mostly Natasha with a side helping of air ducts.”

As Clint inclined his head to the far corner of the ceiling Skye could only just make out the open air duct cover in the shadowy corner, her thoughts then drifted to Natasha and suddenly everything the other woman had done made sense.

The vodka, the stories – both sexy and non-sexy – and most definitely the frustrating little black dress she currently wore, blowing out a frustrated breath she lifted her hands to brace them against his chest.

Skye had had every intention of pushing Clint back when she’d braced her hands on his chest, that had flown right out the window when she felt the muscles hidden beneath the loose t-shirt he currently wore. Idly running her hands along his chest she whispered;

“Let me get this straight, it’s _your_ fault I’m currently stuck in this bloody dress that is far too short?”

“Actually, that’s _all_ Natasha, I only found out what she was planning _after_ the fact. Then she tormented me further with a picture of this bloody dress. And I wouldn’t say you’re stuck in it Skye, I’m quite willing to help get you _out_ of it.”

When Clint wiggled his eyebrows lasciviously as his gaze raked down her body Skye found herself suddenly wetter, squeezing her thighs together she shoved at his solid chest with a low groan.

“Ah, so that’s a no?” He let out a soft sigh, moving back as she pushed at him and getting to his feet. “All right, I get it. It’s a bit soon, I guess…”

“No! I mean, yes!” She scrambled up and reached for him as he stepped back.

“What’re you sayin’ no and yes to, Skye? Because I don’t want any doubts here.”

She took a deep breath, reached under her arm for the hidden zip on her dress. “I’m saying no, don’t leave.” The zip eased down and she peeled the dress away from her shoulders. It had a built-in bra and she had nothing on beneath it; Natasha hadn’t sent her any underwear and she refused to wear the nasty, sweaty things she’d had on under her combat suit. Clint’s eyes were riveted to her pale skin in the moonlight as the dress eased down. “And yes – I want you.”

Clint’s expression was hard for her to read – she made a mental note _not_ to play poker with him – though the hunger she could see in his eyes as his gaze followed the descent of the dress was crystal clear. Stepping out of the pool of material at her feet Skye closed the small distance between them, tilting her head up to watch his face as she slipped her hands beneath the hem of his t-shirt to run up along his sides.

Tracing her hands along his chest Skye was trying to memorise the feel of Clint’s muscular chest, her fingers currently were occupied tracing various scars scattered about his chest. When Clint reached back to grasp the back collar of his t-shirt and pulled it up over his head Skye let her gaze drop so she could _see_ the scars she was intently focused upon.

There was one directly in the centre of his chest that drew her attention, located directly over his sternum and heart Skye knew it was far too small to have been a gunshot wound. Settling her hands at his waist Skye cocked her head as she tried to puzzle out the cause of the scar in the middle of his chest, she figured it was about the right size to have been caused by the tip of some kind of blade.

Brushing a feather light kiss over the scar Skye was surprised by not only Clint’s soft sigh but by his hands suddenly working to free her hair from the ponytail she’d pulled it back into earlier.

His sigh had prompted a deliciously wicked idea to pop into her head, tilting her head slightly to look up at Clint’s face from under her lashes Skye brushed another light kiss over the scar as she slid one hand from his waist down to his groin.

 

Clint had been rather occupied with freeing Skye’s hair from the elastic band restraining it and was in the middle of stroking his calloused fingers through her soft, thick dark hair when the second tentative brush of her lips over the damned scar Loki had left him with had him looking down into dark chocolate eyes, he barely caught the wicked glint within them before Skye darted her tongue out to lick across the scar as her hand suddenly started rubbing his swelling cock through the denim of his jeans.

Tangling his fingers in her hair Clint tugged gently to pull her devious mouth from his chest, tilting her head far enough back he leant down to capture her mouth in a heated kiss. It took some coaxing – mostly through flicks of his tongue and sharp nips to Skye’s lower lip – for him to convince her lips to part and admit him entrance to her mouth, which he instantly took advantage of by exploring her mouth with his tongue.

He could still taste Natasha’s favourite vodka lingering in Skye’s mouth, though as her nimble hand increased the pressure of her rubbing along his cock Clint groaned into her mouth and was eventually forced to pull back from the kiss, dropping his forehead to rest against Skye’s he looked into her dark eyes as he rumbled quietly;

“You’re killing me here, Skye.”

Skye’s quiet laugh as her fingers deftly unzipped his jeans after popping the button was like music to his ears, Clint found himself biting back a groan as her hands slipped beneath the back waistband of his jeans to grab his ass.

“I don’t know if the fact you’re going commando is seriously fucking hot or just a little disturbing?” Skye murmured as her hands squeezed his ass.

“Beautiful, the only time I’m not commando is when I’m wearing my tactical suit, that thing chafes like a son of a bitch.” Clint couldn’t help but chuckle as he saw Skye’s eyes widen.

He noticed it took Skye a minute or so to get over that particular revelation, but the moment she did Clint suddenly felt her hands sliding down his ass his jeans tagging along.

When Skye’s hands moved back to his abs the moment his jeans reached his knees Clint suddenly found himself being awkwardly shuffled backwards, the moment the bed hit the back of his legs Skye gave a solid shove to his abs causing him to drop onto the bed with a slight bounce.

As Skye leant forward to brace her hands on his thighs as she slid down to her knees in front of him, Clint groaned when Skye nipped at his thigh as her hands worked to pull his jeans off his legs, after she tossed the denim aside Clint found himself seriously distracted by her mouth slowly working up his thigh and knew he needed to distract her.

“Skye, pass me the bag by the night stand please?”

Clint watched her brow furrow in confusion as Skye turned her head to look at the night stand and the bag on the floor in front of it, when she finally turned and moved to retrieve it Clint find himself thoroughly enjoying the view right up until he got caught looking and Skye rolled her eyes and threw the bag at his head.

“Was that an excuse for you to stare at my ass?”

Catching the bag and pulling it open Clint reached in and fumbled around till his hand closed around the box which he set on the bed beside him before dropping the bag back to the floor.

“I need an excuse for that?” Clint quipped back with what he was sure was a shameless grin as Skye sashayed back to him with a little more swing in her hips than was absolutely necessary.

His grin however soon turned into a low groan as Skye straddled his thighs and sat down, one of her deft hands dropping to curl around his thick aching cock and beginning an experimental series of strokes, each one slightly different and Clint knew that she was trying to work out what he liked.

Curling one arm around her waist Clint leant forward dropping his head to nuzzle against Skye’s neck, he heard her breath stutter and felt her hand falter in its strokes as he nipped at the skin where her neck met her shoulder.

He heard Skye’s free hand fumbling with the box before flicking it off the side of the bed, Clint in the meanwhile had turned his attention to Skye’s neck latching onto the delicate skin at the column of her throat and was in the process of biting and sucking a sizeable hickey into her pale, soft skin.

“Don’t tease Clint.” Skye’s voice was a breathy murmur by his ear.

“Woman, I’m not the one teasing right now.” Clint huffed against Skye’s neck as his hips instinctually jerked up as her hands worked the condom down.

Pushing her hands away from his cock Clint easily lifted her slight weight and lined himself up with the entrance to her hot, slick core, as he lowered Skye slowly, teasingly down on his swollen shaft he groaned at how tight she was and growled into her neck;

“Damn, woman, you‘re intent on killing me.”

Skye’s breath hitched as her hands gripped his shoulders, her hips rolling to aid his entry as she moaned “Killing a master assassin with sex…there’s something kinda poetic about that.”

With one last little roll of her hips Clint found himself buried to the hilt in Skye’s tight channel, he took a moment to let her adjust to his size before murmuring “Yeah, I should be killing you, huh? Let’s try that….”

Tightening the arm around Skye’s waist he shifted, spreading his legs slightly and bracing his feet to give himself more leverage, Clint shifted his grip to Skye’s ass and thrust up into her.

If her sudden gasp was anything to go by he’d caught Skye off guard with the move, he felt her hands settle in a tight grip on his shoulders as she shifted her legs to brace her feet on the bed behind him.

It didn’t take long for them to establish a rhythm and angle that had Clint driving deep into Skye’s heated core; he knew he wasn’t going to last long she was too tight and he’d been abstinent for a _long_ time, altering the angle of his next thrust he was rewarded by Skye throwing her head back, her voice a breathy moan as she muttered;

“Oh, fuck, please don’t stop, so close.”

Dropping his head forward Clint dragged his tongue up along the delicate column of her throat as he thrust up harder and faster into Skye, her quiet mewls ringing in his ears as he licked his way to her ear and growled;

“Not gonna happen beautiful girl, not until I feel you coming on my cock.”

The sudden rake of Skye’s nails through his hair had Clint leaning his head back into the new sensation; Skye’s rapid breathing combined with the occasional clench of her inner muscles told Clint she was close to shattering.

When Skye began quivering and grinding herself down into his pounding thrusts Clint’s rhythm stuttered momentarily, though he rectified that quickly after a sharp tug at his hair had him meeting Skye’s pleading eyes.

Several sharp jarring thrusts later Clint grunted as Skye’s inner muscles clenched tight around his cock, when Skye dropped her head to his shoulder sinking her teeth into his flesh to muffle her cry of ecstasy it sent a white hot jolt of pleasure coursing through his nervous system.

One hard thrust later and he was following her over the cliff as his own orgasm ripped through his body, her muscles milking his throbbing, pulsing cock of everything he had. Clint slid his hands up Skye’s back, holding her tight to his chest as they both rode through the aftershocks of their mutual climax.

Clint was a hundred percent sure he was going to be bearing her bite mark in his shoulder for a while if the throbbing was anything to go by, though that was _definitely_ the first time pain had blurred into pleasure for him.

 

Skye hummed nuzzling her face into Clint’s shoulder as she languidly stroked her tongue across the bite mark she’d left in his shoulder, the sudden shudder of Clint beneath her sending another series of little tremors through her body.

A light swat to her ass had Skye lifting her head to look at Clint she blinked slowly while he studied her face before he whispered;

“As much as I don’t want to say this, I need you to move, Skye, so I can go dispose of the condom.”

Shifting to settle her feet to the floor Skye braced her hands on Clint’s shoulders and pushed herself up off his lap, after one of his hands had slipped between them to hold the condom in place. She stood stock still for a minute supporting her body weight against Clint’s shoulders until she was sure her legs would hold her, eventually moving to the side and letting Clint up.

Appreciating the view of Clint’s retreating muscular ass Skye sighed, waiting until he disappeared into the bathroom she flopped ungracefully onto the large bed, her legs seriously felt like jelly and she was blissfully sore in all the right places.

Skye knew she was sprawled inelegantly across the middle of the bed, but she quite frankly couldn’t bring herself to move, her mind otherwise occupied, the sheer fact May _hadn’t_ kicked the door down gave Skye a sense of hope that they’d gotten away with it.

Clint returned a couple of minutes later, smiling to see Skye collapsed on her front on the bed in an ungainly sprawl. “Wore you out, did I, beautiful?” he murmured, slipping into bed beside her and leaning down to trace a row of delicate kisses up her spine.

“’S been a big day,” Skye mumbled, allowing him to pull her closer. “Are you gonna be a cuddly sleeper?”

“Yes?”

“Okay. As long as you don’t snore.” Her eyes drifted closed and she nestled her head contentedly on his shoulder.

It took Clint a good deal longer to fall asleep. He just lay there, stroking Skye’s hair gently as she slept, watching her peaceful face in the moonlight. _So young, so lovely. What did I ever do to deserve you, beautiful?_

He eventually drifted off to sleep, soothed by the quiet, regular sound of her breathing.

 

Skye came partially awake to a tickling sensation on her right inner thigh, she tried to stretch but found herself unable to. Grumbling she reached down to swat at the incessant tickling, the low masculine chuckle that sounded had her wide awake instantly, her eyes flying wide as she sat up quickly.

It took her about a minute to recall what had happened earlier, glancing down she found Clint settled quite comfortably between her legs with his head resting on her left thigh as his fingers traced along her soulmark.

“Oh, morning?”

“Morning, sleepy head.”

Reaching out one hand Skye began to lightly stroke her fingers through Clint’s short dark blonde hair, in all honesty she couldn’t remember the last time she hadn’t woken alone – not counting the time she and Jemma had passed out drunk and woken up huddled together under a blanket – it was a nice change.

“I didn’t think you’d still be here when I woke.” Skye admitted quietly though she was soon mentally kicking herself at the hurt expression that flashed across his face before that steadfast poker face was back in place.

“I can leave if you want me to?”

The flat tone of his voice hit Skye like a combat boot to the gut as she hastily tried to think of something to say before blurting “No! That’s not what I meant… I just thought that given the fact you snuck in you’d have snuck out early before everyone woke.”

When Clint rolled onto his front Skye was so certain he was going to leave that she let her hand fall limply from his hair and flopped back into the pillows with a soft sigh, bringing both hands up to cover her face she was well and truly in the middle of berating herself when she felt his warm breath blow across her thigh.

“My mark on you is in such an intimate spot.” Clint murmured.

Before Skye could even register what was going on Clint was kissing his way along the mark stopping midway to mutter;

“It’s leading me right to where I want to be.”

All coherent thought on Skye’s part flew right out the window the moment Clint’s breath blew out across her crotch, though she was pretty sure the moment that Clint’s wicked tongue licked through her folds and up to her clit that her entire mind flew right off the planet.

Dropping one hand to rest on the back of Clint’s head as he busied himself with thoroughly eating her out – and he was seriously fucking good at that she noted mentally – she had to bring her other hand to her mouth so she could bite down against her knuckles to keep from screaming at the exquisite pleasure.

A sudden knock on the door jarred Skye from her blissful haze momentarily but she chose to ignore it as Clint shifted her legs over his shoulders without even lifting his head, when the knocking became more incessant and louder to the point where Clint stalled what he was doing to lift his head and glare at the door she groaned in frustration before grousing;

“Go way, ‘m still sleeping.”

The reserved sigh on the other side of the door told Skye it was Jemma even before she spoke.

“Skye, it’s breakfast time. Coulson sent me to come get you to eat with the rest of us up on the common floor with the Avengers, and I know you _must_ be dying to see Agent Barton again.”

When Clint turned his head to look up her with a lascivious grin Skye almost burst out laughing, until he decided that he was going to go back to what he was previously doing which instead had her shuddering with a gasp as her hips bucked to meet his questing mouth.

When Jemma knocked again and tried the door handle Skye knew she had to say or do something before her best friend’s suspicions were aroused and eventually mumbled;

“Jemma, please let me get just a little more sleep…..” Her voice squeaked just then as Clint’s tongue delved deeper into her folds and she whacked lightly at the back of his head before trying to continue in a weary tone “I had nightmares last night.”

The vibration of Clint’s laughter against her core sent a sudden jolt of fire through Skye’s body and had heat pooling low in belly as he moved one calloused thumb to stroke at her clit as he started to probe her core with that devilishly wicked tongue.

“Oh... if you were having nightmares about Trip you should have come and woken me.”

She really did love Jemma to death but right now Skye was fighting extremely hard to _not_ make any embarrassingly aroused noises that would pique her friend’s curiosity while turning Jemma beet red at the same time.

 


	6. Thawing Winter

_ _

_Try not to get distracted by shirtless Bucky like Jemma does._

Jemma stared intently at the door, more than a little puzzled – had Skye just _squeaked_ while speaking to her? Lifting her hand she was about to knock again when she heard a _very_ loud unabashed moan that was rather promptly followed by “Oh, sweet Jesus, do that again, please?”

She was about to ask Skye if she was alright when she suddenly heard a very masculine chuckle echoing through the room, wide-eyed Jemma suddenly realised that Clint was apparently already in Skye’s room.

“Oh…dear!” Jemma muttered as she turned around to make a hasty retreat to the elevator.

As she was riding to the common floor Jemma contemplated exactly what she was going to tell Coulson, she knew she was an absolutely atrocious liar but if she planned in advance what she was going to say then maybe, just maybe she could pull it off.

Maybe she could use the excuse Skye had given her. Though if people suddenly realised Clint wasn’t around and started asking questions could she actually keep a straight face while insisting Skye was sleeping?

As she stepped off the elevator Jemma could see everyone spread around the lounge, idly she wondered if she didn’t have to look at Coulson would it make it any easier to lie to him?

It was as she was heading for the kitchen that Coulson’s voice reached her asking;

“Jemma, where’s Skye?”

 _Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuck_ was Jemma’s first thought before she mentally calmed herself, taking a subtle breath as she stepped into the kitchen she called back with a slight crack to her voice;

“She’s sleeping for a while longer, she was having nightmares again.”

Jemma was in the process of making her cup of tea when she heard the faint shuffle of feet enter the kitchen, she kept her attention solely on what she was doing, pulling the teabag from her cup and depositing it into the bin.

Before she could go retrieve the milk the bottle slid into her peripheral vision on the counter, adding a dash of milk and stirring she lifted the cup and took a relaxing sip. Maybe she was getting better at this whole lying thing.

“You’re a terrible liar, doll.” The sudden whisper of the masculine voice by her ear made Jemma freeze, her mug slipping free of her hand.

Her eyes seemed locked onto the mug that was falling in almost slow motion, the thought that she was about to seriously scald herself flashed through her mind just as a flash of silver entered her line of sight.

Jemma’s eyes widened as she saw a metallic hand catch her dropped mug with relative ease, turning she found herself looking directly into the piercing blue eyes of the Winter Soldier.

He was leaning forward and studying her face intently at the same time he set her mug on the counter, clearing the fog from her brain she recalled he’d spoken to her and muttered “I know……Oh, it’s you?”

Was it possible? She’d spent years waiting for someone, anyone really to say the full phrase of her solemark but all she’d ever gotten was _You’re a terrible liar_ , but now suddenly a former HYDRA assassin had just spoken her words.

 

Bucky felt his eyes go wide as the pretty brunette muttered the words he recalled burning into his flesh twenty-seven years ago – he’d been thawed for testing as well as upgrades to his arm when he’d suddenly flinched at the sharp burning sensation – reaching out with his flesh and blood hand he curled it around her delicate wrist.

Turning suddenly Bucky moved from the kitchen, his grip light as he guided the shorter woman along beside him, his gaze was darting swiftly about the room trying to pinpoint a nice secluded spot.

In the end he decided upon the elevator and quickly ushered his soulmate – at least he hoped she was his soulmate otherwise this might be extremely embarrassing and Steve would likely never let him forget it – inside, shielding her with his body right up until the moment the doors closed.

When she carefully tugged her wrist free and backed into the corner Bucky took the opportunity to run his gaze over her studiously, she was probably a good seven inches shorter than him with pale but soft skin, long light brown hair and hazel eyes.

Her eyes were wide with panic as she glanced suddenly to the closed doors, Bucky didn’t recall making a noise but surely he must have as he suddenly found those gorgeous eyes – he could definitely get lost in those eyes – suddenly raking over him in curiosity.

Reaching up Bucky started to unfasten the buttons of the white button down shirt he wore, the sudden sharp intake of his possible soulmate’s breath making his lips curve into a wry grin. It didn’t escape his notice how her gaze followed his hands as he worked the buttons free, after slipping the last button free and sliding the shirt from his shoulders and arms Bucky carelessly dropped it to the floor.

Extending his flesh and blood hand again he carefully took hold of one of her hands and brought it to rest upon the elegant cursive handwriting on his abs, leaning down by her ear Bucky murmured “Please tell me this is your handwriting and that I haven’t just scared the pants off some poor unwitting bystander?”

“Hmm, what? Oh.” The prim English accent vaguely reminded him of Peggy Carter, though at least this little dame didn’t seem to have any qualms in intently studying his physique.

Bucky watched with amusement as those hazel eyes slowly roamed over the expanse of his bared muscular chest till it finally landed where he held her hand – wait, was her hand shaking nervously against his abs?

When her head cocked curiously and her brow furrowed slightly, Bucky felt his heart momentarily drop; maybe he had jumped to the wrong conclusion and had suddenly put this poor woman in an unwelcome position.

“This _is_ my handwriting, how intriguing. I never thought that my soulmate would be…..” Her voice trailed off as though she wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence, with a sigh he suddenly supplied;

“A killer?”

A quiet gasp and the sudden shaking of her head had Bucky quirking one brow in confusion, though he found his confusion melt into amusement as she suddenly blurted “No! That he’d… _you’d_ be so hot and oh so _muscular_.”

Lifting her hand from his abs Bucky leant forward to brush a kiss across her knuckles, throwing her a mischievous wink as he straightened.

“James Buchanan Barnes, at your service, doll.”

“Wait…. Barnes, as in _Bucky_ Barnes, childhood best friend of Captain America?” Jemma said with more than a little awe.

“He actually prefers Steve, if you want to get into his good graces, doll. Think he’s sick and tired of always being referred to by his stage name. But yes, that’s me or was me, I’m still learning who I was or am.”

Bucky watched her silently as she seemed to process the facts, he was also waiting for her to introduce herself, last night they’d pretty much just all been introduced by their surnames so he had no idea who was who really.

“Oh, I’m Jemma, Jemma Simmons. This is probably going to sound very strange but could I get some of your blood? I’m curious as to how your samples differ to Captain Amer….Steve’s?”

Bucky couldn’t help the low chuckle that rumbled through his chest and filled the elevator, that really hadn’t been anything he was expecting her to say. Catching the blush spreading across her pale cheeks moments before she dropped her gaze to the floor he murmured by her ear;

“Jemma, you can take as much blood as you want. In fact, you are quite welcome to take anything you like from me whenever you like. Though, I would like one small thing from you first.”

“What’s that?” Her voice was wary as she peeked up at him through her lashes.

“A kiss?”

Bucky watched curiously as Jemma’s head cocked to one side and he got the impression she was considering what the best response would be, he waited patiently – granted as the Winter Soldier patience had never been a big requirement in his missions, but Bucky Barnes was a sniper; he was nothing _but_ patient.

 

Jemma had to wonder now if her fascination with muscle bound guys had to do with her soulmate, he was extremely well cut and she was finding it _extremely_ difficult to keep her eyes on his face.

Bucky was a war hero, she’d grown up on the stories of Captain America and Bucky Barnes, in truth Bucky had always been her favourite, he’d been the human element in the larger than life stories.

So to find out he was her soulmate, well Jemma was internally squealing like a little fangirl. Though it hadn’t escaped her notice that Bucky had seemed a little uncertain, almost insecure at her earlier silence when she’d been internally processing this particular development.

The fact he’d asked her for a kiss had definitely surprised her, yet Jemma liked that he’d asked instead of simply taking what he wanted. Taking two steps to bring her from the corner of the elevator into Bucky’s personal space she made her decision.

Stretching up onto her toes Jemma extended one hand up to curl around the nape of his neck, she was grateful when Bucky lowered his head as she pushed lightly against his neck. When he was close enough Jemma tilted her head back and to the side slightly to capture his mouth.

Before Jemma let her eyes flutter closed she saw that Bucky’s blue eyes were wide with surprise, as though he hadn’t expected her to agree to his request. She felt more than heard the low growl in Bucky’s chest as his flesh and blood arm curled around her waist to pull her flush against that deliciously muscled body.

Jemma wasn’t even aware of moving until her back connected with the wall of the elevator, so she was pressed between the proverbial rock and the hard place – the rock being Bucky’s powerfully muscular body. When Bucky pulled back from the kiss Jemma was slightly embarrassed by the whimper that escaped her throat.

Forcing her eyes open she blinked as Bucky braced that metallic arm of his against the wall over her head. His blue eyes appeared conflicted as though he was warring with himself internally.

It occurred to her that she didn’t even know what name he preferred, she knew for certain she wasn’t calling him Winter Soldier, that just sounded far too….she wanted to go with _formal_ but _lethal_ would probably work too.

“Bucky?” Jemma brought her free hand up to cup his cheek.

When Bucky turned his head to press a kiss against the palm of her hand and looked back to her with a wry grin, Jemma felt her brow furrow slightly as he chuckled quietly.

“James, call me James please, Jemma. Bucky just doesn’t seem right coming from you.”

“James, is something wrong?” Jemma asked quietly as she studied his face, the indecision warring in his eyes was almost palpable.

“Jemma, my beautiful soulmate, I don’t deserve you. I’ve done a lot of bad shit over the years…I’m not a good man, sweetheart. You deserve better than a broken shell of a man like me.”

Now that declaration Jemma definitely wasn’t expecting, she’d felt her heart wrench as Bucky spoke, to hear him admit he thought himself unworthy of her, well it brought tears to her eyes.

Even though she didn’t know him – aside from what _everyone_ knew about him that was – Jemma loved him unconditionally, she loved everyone close to her that way. She never judged, never criticised and was always there when needed.

“James, don’t you say that. If you didn’t deserve happiness I wouldn’t carry your words.” Jemma could feel the tears welling in her eyes trying to slip free but she steadfastly refused to let them break free.

Wrapping her arms around Bucky’s waist Jemma dropped her head to rest against his chest with a soft sigh as her arms tightened so she could hug him as fiercely as she was able.

“If anyone so much as says you’re not worthy of redemption or love in my presence I’ll……I’ll…..” Well Jemma really didn’t know what she’d do and simply ended up mumbling into his bare chest “I’ll shoot them with an ICER or get May to go all Mulan on them.”

 

Jemma’s reassurance was definitely what Bucky had needed, though he _still_ didn’t feel worthy of her, the simple fact that she was willing to stand up for him made his long-frozen heart swell with pride.

 


	7. Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye soon learns that serious conversations cannot happen in a shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is more some more smut here amongst some attempted serious conversations and then a rather Hawkward conversation about birth control after Clint loses his head.

_ _

_Yes I know technically this GIF is of Jem from The Town but I wanted a shower image or GIF._

_So it was either the one of JEM or this[one](http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/y518/ekdiss79/I%20Can%20Jump%20No/tumblr_m9e6pxrqZF1qdp8ri_zpsz1mnwy44.gif) that is definitely, probably NSFW._

 

When she’d woken this morning Skye definitely hadn’t expected one round of sex let alone two, collapsing forward onto Clint’s chest she was still quivering from her climax as she mumbled;

“You’re trying to kill me, I swear. Is this because of that stupid crack I made last night about you being older?”

Clint’s low rumble of laughter echoed in the quiet stillness of the room, but it was the vibration of it against her chest that caused her to shiver with pleasure.

“Hmm, maybe, or maybe I’m just an extremely horny old man who’s seriously fucking lucky to have a young, beautiful and nubile soulmate to work off the sexual tension with?” Clint’s voice murmured just before Skye felt him nuzzle into the top of her head.

Skye couldn’t stop the giggle that bubbled up and broke free – though she’d adamantly deny giggling if _ever_ asked – lifting her head from Clint’s gloriously muscular chest she slapped her hand half heartedly against his shoulder.

“You’re not _that_ old, Hawkass. If I recall correctly you’re thirty-seven?”

Forcing herself to sit up Skye reached down between them to close one hand around the base of Clint’s cock to hold the condom in place as she lifted herself up to dismount off him.

Easing off the bed Skye stumbled as she gained her feet, she was deliciously sore in all the right places and it took a minute for her to gain her balance, as she padded silently towards the bathroom she was acutely aware of the fact she was walking stiffly.

After using the toilet Skye made her way across to the shower, she was seriously sweaty _again_ and figured that the hot water would help ease her stiff muscles. Stepping under the cascade of hot water Skye didn’t even bother to try and hide her shameless groan, the husky chuckle from behind announced Clint’s arrival moments before his arms encircled her.

“And here I thought I was the only one who could make you groan like that Skye.”

“People wise, you are. But so can this water pressure and temperature and I’m really not sorry about that.” Skye murmured quietly in the same instant as Clint turned them from beneath the spray of water.

 

Reaching for the shower gel Clint poured some into his hand and began to lather up Skye’s lean body, he relished the low purr that rolled from Skye’s throat as his calloused fingers massaged the gel into her soft skin.

Clint had started at Skye’s shoulders and was working his way slowly, thoroughly down her chest ensuring every inch of her skin was lathered. His hands stopped suddenly as his fingertips brushed across two scars on her stomach, Clint felt Skye tense as his fingers explored the scars more thoroughly.

He could tell by the shape of the scars that they were gunshot wounds, the seething rage boiling inside him had him pulling Skye’s body back tighter into his chest, dropping his head down by her ear Clint growled;

“Who did this? Who shot you Skye and please tell me that they’re dead?”

The tension in Skye’s lithe body was a perfect match to Clint’s temper, both coiled so tight that they were ready to snap, splaying one large hand over her stomach Clint let his other drop to stroke along his words on her inner thigh.

“I don’t think I can tell you? Coulson might kill me considering it happened on an op.” Clint didn’t miss the uncertain waver in Skye’s voice.

“Beautiful, one way or another someone’s going to tell me. I’d much rather hear it from you than have to threaten Coulson to get the information.”

Turning them back beneath the water Clint waited until all the soap rinsed off Skye before he turned her round to face him, backing her into the shower wall Clint slid one muscular thigh between her legs as he braced one arm on the wall above her head as his other dropped to let him curl his hand over her hip.

When Skye’s hands settled on his chest Clint took a moment to study her face, he got the impression she was warring with herself over whether or not to trust him and disclose the information he was after.

“You can trust me Skye; I just want to look out for you.”

“I’m a big girl Barton, pretty sure I can look out for myself,” Skye purred.

It didn’t take Clint long to realise Skye was trying to distract him, in fact the moment she ground against his thigh he knew exactly what she was doing, shaking his head slightly Clint muttered;

“I never said you couldn’t, beautiful, but there’s nothing wrong with asking for help either.”

 

Skye sighed quietly, she’d never been a big fan of asking for help and in the past times when she had asked help had never come.

“No there’s not, but help doesn’t always come either. Clint, my life has been…..well seriously shitty before I joined up with Coulson. I grew up an orphan, moving from foster home to foster home never fitting in, before Coulson I never had a family. But you need to know, the last man I trusted who wasn’t Coulson wound up being HYDRA.”

Closing her eyes Skye took a deep breath and contemplated what to say next, there was so much she probably should share with Clint but it seemed a little sudden to be airing _all_ her dirty laundry to her new lover.

“I’m also worried that if I tell you, you’re going to run off and do something seriously stupid. I just found you and I honestly don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

“You’re not going to lose me Skye, what about if we make a deal? You give me the name of the person who shot you and we _all_ go after them.”

Leaning her head back against the wall Skye arched one brow upwards as her gaze drifted over Clint’s face down the column of his throat, when her eyes locked onto his pectorals she licked her lower lip.

“You know…..all this delicious, bare, very masculine flesh is seriously distracting, I get the feeling you’re using that to my disadvantage to get your answers.”

“Maybe a little bit, but I’m not the only one who’s distracting here.” Skye groaned softly at Clint’s husky tone.

“Oh, fuck me.” Skye muttered as she reached up to curl one hand around the nape of Clint’s neck to pull his head down to hers in order to capture his mouth in a brief kiss.

“With pleasure, beautiful.” Clint growled as he shifted, bringing both hands to cup Skye’s ass, easily lifting her slight weight to pull her pliant body flush with his as his mouth crashed down firmly onto Skye’s.

Skye’s slender legs wrapping around his waist lined them up perfectly and allowed his hardened cock to slide easily into her warm, slick yet tight channel, breaking the kiss with a guttural groan Clint thrust his hips forward to sheath himself fully in Skye’s welcoming body.

“You know, I didn’t mean that literally but since you started this don’t you dare stop.” Skye’s voice cracked slightly as Clint thrust harder into her.

With a low chuckle Clint leant in to lick along the column of Skye’s throat till his mouth rested by her ear so he could murmur;

“It was too good an invitation to pass up.”

The sharp rake of Skye’s nails along his back drew a groan from Clint’s throat as the pace of his thrusts picked up, Skye’s breathy moan as she rolled her hips down to meet his thrust was unexpected.

When Skye’s inner muscles fluttered around him Clint knew neither of them were going to last long – especially not after their previous two rounds of vigorous love making already this morning – tightening his grip on Skye’s ass he used that hold to alter the angle of her hips as he pounded into her.

Her startled yelp of surprise Clint captured with his mouth, kissing her heatedly as Skye clutched at him for dear life, her fingernails bit deep into his shoulders as her legs tightened around his waist in the same instant her inner muscles clamped down hard on his throbbing cock.

Burying himself to the hilt with one hard thrust Clint followed Skye right over the precipice of climax, his own causing him to see a flash of bright light behind his eyes as he came. Skye’s spasming muscles milked him of every drop of come he had, dropping his head to rest on Skye’s breasts Clint tried to steady his ragged breaths and felt Skye trying to do the same.

They stood like that for several minutes, Clint easily holding Skye’s slight weight despite his momentary physical exhaustion; it was the gentle caress of Skye’s fingers through his hair that kicked his libido out of the driver’s seat to allow his brain to start functioning again as he suddenly muttered;

“Fuck.”

Skye’s soft chuckle reverberated through her body as Clint felt it roll through her chest and caused her inner muscles to flutter around his dwindling length still within her, the slow rasp of her tongue around the outer shell of his ear made him groan moments before she whispered;

“Pretty sure we just did that.”

“Yes, we did. But that’s also why I just cursed, my beautiful girl, I got so carried away in the heat of the moment that we just, uh…..” Clint wasn’t sure of entirely the best way to finish that sentence; he knew the moment Skye figured out what had happened as her eyes went wide momentarily as she breathed out suddenly;

“Went bareback? Oh my God, Clint!”

 

“Sorry? I’m clean though, SHIELD was very thorough about monthly testing protocols and if I know Coulson he _kept_ that protocol in place. You’re on birth control right?” Clint’s sheepish expression and tone had Skye blinking dazedly.

“Uh….no, not currently?”

Skye squeaked out as her eyes met Clint’s briefly before she looked away suddenly, uncurling her legs from around his waist the moment her feet hit the shower floor she squirmed free of Clint’s hold to slip from the shower and wrap herself in one of the towels.

“No? Skye…why not?”

Wincing at Clint’s tone Skye turned in time to see him secure his towel before stepping forward to lightly grasp her upper arms; she could see the censure in his expression without him even needing to say anything more.

“Well….I was on oral pills with my past boyfriends, but after the whole incident with my creepy stalker HYDRA ex I swore off men and figured I didn’t really need it at the moment?”

As Clint’s hand dropped from her arms and he lifted one to drag it through his hair in frustration Skye decided now was a _really_ good time to beat a hasty retreat to get dressed. Turning quickly on one bare foot she all but ran from the bathroom leaving Clint muttering quietly to himself.

After pulling on the clean underwear Skye quickly pulled the t-shirt on before grabbing the jeans to shimmy into them, it was as she was fastening them that Clint’s arms encircled her – it occurred to her then that for someone so muscular he was seriously fucking sneaky – and pulled her back into his bare chest.

“You’re friend Jemma is your team’s doctor right? We’re going to find her and get this situation rectified, Skye.”

“Okay,” she mumbled a bit sheepishly. “I’m sure she can get me the morning-after pill. And maybe a shot, I was never very good at remembering to take the pills anyway, but then I always insisted guys use protection.”

“As you should.” He sighed, pressing kisses against her hair. “I’m sorry, beautiful. No excuses. I shouldn’t have done it, should have been more careful with you, no matter how wild you make me.”

“I forgive you,” she turned her head and reached for his lips. “Do you forgive me?”

“For not being on the pill? Yeah. For distracting me from finding out who did this to you?” His fingers slipped under the hem of her shirt, traced lightly over her scars. “Oh no. You’re not forgiven for that. So start talking, beautiful.”

 


	8. Revelations

_ _

_Purely because I felt Clint needed to be looking all sexy in a chair to open this chapter._

_Try not to get distracted._

 

Skye sighed quietly, she had held onto a _slim_ hope that Clint had forgotten what they’d been discussing but that was apparently not the case, dropping her hand she curled it around his arm where it disappeared beneath the hem of her shirt.

“Fine, we’ll talk but could we do that after you get dressed? And preferably in a room without a bed?”

It was a strange request and Skye knew that, but at the moment she honestly didn’t trust herself to be in a room that housed a bed with him virtually naked, the pull between them was strong and even now she found her gaze locked upon his bare chest.

“I think that’s doable,” Clint murmured.

When Clint turned to retrieve his clothing from where it had been carelessly discarded the night before, Skye had to bite her lower lip in order to stop herself from groaning as he bent over to gather up his jeans. _That ass is a work of art._

As Clint unfastened his towel Skye turned and started towards the door, if she stayed in the room she had a funny feeling that she’d likely end up pinning him to the bed and licking her way along every glorious inch of Clint’s scarred, muscled body.

Once in the hallway with the door closed Skye took a deep cleansing breath, as she made her way down the hall Skye busied her hands with combing her fingers through her hair.

Stepping into the lounge she scanned the spacious area, her eyes swept over the couch before darting back and widening as she caught the barest glimpse of Jemma underneath a larger, very masculine body.

“Holy, hot half naked assassin,” Skye mumbled, wide-eyed.

“You know, if I didn’t know better I might be jealous about that remark.”

Clint’s husky whisper by her ear made Skye jump, turning side on she waved a hand vaguely towards the pair entwined on the couch as she whispered;

“Am I seeing things or is my best friend and the closest thing I have to a sister currently lying under and making out with a hot, seriously buff, half naked Winter Soldier?”

“Barnes, didn’t your mother teach you to be a gentleman? Let the poor woman up for air,” Clint called.

Skye saw the reaction almost immediately as the muscles in that bare masculine back tensed at the same moment as she heard Jemma’s soft gasp. Skye felt her lips twitch with barely contained amusement as she called out;

“Jemma, I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“Skye! Don’t make it sound so….so _tawdry_ , he’s my soulmate,” Jemma squawked in response.

“Oh? In that case now you know what I was going through.”

Crossing to the couch the pair was entangled upon Skye crossed her arms over her chest, studiously watching Bucky as he carefully extracted himself from Jemma. He got points in her mental notebook for his careful tenderness with Jemma, when he stood at his full height Skye realised he was probably an inch, almost two taller than Clint.

Stepping up to Bucky, Skye uncrossed her arms and extended one hand out to Bucky’s chest – pointedly ignoring Clint’s low growl of disapproval from behind her – poking him sharply with her index and middle fingers Skye said firmly;

“You hurt her and I’ll make you regret it. Winter Soldier or no I have a few tricks that I’m pretty sure you won’t expect, Barnes.”

Skye had to call on every ounce of May’s training not to visibly flinch as those piercing blue eyes scanned over her studiously, she had the distinct impression Bucky was assessing her for strengths and weakness.

Tightening her lips and straightening her shoulders Skye arched one brow in silent question; they stood like that for a few minutes before Bucky’s lips twitched into a slight grin moments before his low chuckle reached her ears.

“Doll, if I hurt her you’ll have to get in line to kick my ass right behind me and probably the punk.”

Bristling at the nickname Skye balled her hand into a fist and swung out at his right shoulder putting all her strength behind it as she groused;

“Don’t call me Doll, my name is Skye.”

“Old habit Do…Skye, Jemma’s lucky to have a friend willing to stand up for her. Not many people have the guts to stand up to the Winter Soldier, let alone threaten him.” Bucky’s low voice was strangely conflicted.

“Well that’s me, occasionally suicidally stupid, you’d think I’d have learnt my lesson after two shots in the stomach but apparently not,” Skye mumbled as she idly tugged at the hem of her t-shirt before looking to Jemma and remembering why she’d been about to seek her best friend and surrogate sister out.

“Oh, speaking of stupid mistakes, Jemma, do you happen to have your kit with you? Wait, why am I asking that, you never go anywhere without it.”

At Jemma’s raised brow Skye felt her cheeks burn. Turning her back to Bucky she dropped her gaze to her bare feet to shield her face behind her hair. A couple of breaths later she mumbled;

“Please tell me you’ve still got morning after pills and birth control shots in there?”

“I do….. why? Wait, Skye, you _didn’t_!”

Jemma’s tone went from cautious to outraged in under a minute, the sudden sound of a slap echoed in the quiet room followed shortly by Clint’s muttered curses. When Skye glanced up she saw Clint rubbing his upper arm momentarily before Jemma’s face was right in front of her.

“Not intentionally!”

“Wait, why would Jemma be carrying birth control supplies with her all the time?” Clint grumbled while rubbing his arm still.

“Bobbi.”

Skye blinked, looking to Jemma as they both spoke at the same time, unable to contain her laughter Skye shook her head slightly before wrapping her arms around Jemma and hugging her tightly.

“Bobbi?”

“She and Hunter are….” Jemma trailed off glancing to Skye as she didn’t know how to finish that sentence.

“Spur of the moment with their sex lives at times. Poor Mack often has to clean various surfaces in the Playground after they’ve defiled them. Apparently Hunter wasn’t a boy scout, he isn’t always prepared.”

“Ah, now that comment in the kitchen last night makes perfect sense as well as your embarrassment,” Clint stated as he dropped heavily into one of the couches.

Skye watched silently as Jemma spared Bucky a long glance before she headed off towards her room, turning towards Clint she sat down on the coffee table facing him and was aware of Bucky settling onto the other couch in her peripheral vision.

“So where were we? Before I got distracted by tall, dark and deadly over here,” Skye stopped speaking briefly to wave one hand towards Bucky before continuing “making out with Jemma?”

“You were about to tell me who shot you twice in the stomach and how it happened.”

Arching one brow upwards at the command Skye felt the hair on the back of her neck rise; leaning back she braced her hands on the coffee table and waited. She never had liked being ordered around as a child, nor as an adult, though it was different with Coulson and May.

“Was I?” Skye quipped.

Clint frowned at the snarky tone of Skye’s voice, when he took in her body language he suddenly realised his mistake. He hadn’t _asked_ her to explain he’d all but _ordered_ her to tell him.

“Ah, fuck. Skye, that came out wrong, I didn’t mean to make that sound like an order.”

“You think, Sherlock?” Skye stated as she kicked lightly at Clint’s leg.

“She’s feisty Barton; I think you’re going to have your hands full with this one,” Bucky all but chuckled in amusement.

“If I didn’t think she’d kick my ass or try to kill me I’d likely put her over my knee for that feistiness, Barnes.”

Skye’s soft spluttering as her gaze darted between him and Bucky had Clint’s mouth curving into a wicked grin, scooting forward so he was sitting on the edge of the couch Clint leant forward to settle his hands on Skye’s knees.

“Skye, it doesn’t sit right with me knowing that someone seriously hurt you and is still out there on the loose. Please tell us?”

“Actually, technically he killed her. She flatlined on me several times,” Jemma’s calm tone interjected.

It would have been impossible for Clint to miss Skye’s wince, even had he been blind he’d have known as her whole body had tensed. Turning his gaze to Jemma he knew the moment her soft gasp reached his ears that his anger over that revelation must be showing.

“Jemma, remember the whole discussion Coulson had with us about not telling people I died? You know that always raises questions!” Skye muttered quietly.

Trying to remain calm after that particular revelation was virtually impossible for Clint, his hands tightened on Skye’s knees as his mind whirled chaotically with the idea his soulmate had _died_ on him albeit briefly.

Cool metal gripping his wrist drew Clint back to reality as his gaze darted momentarily to Bucky, inclining his head slightly he turned his attention back to Skye who was chewing nervously at her thumb nail as she studied him.

“How the hell is she still here then?” Clint barked.

The silence in the room was deafening as Clint slouched back into the couch, crossing his arms over his chest he looked between the two women, they appeared to be conversing silently similar to the way he and Natasha did on occasion, he could feel his patience wearing thin and eventually snapped;

“One of you, answer me please?”

“Coulson,” Skye said simply as though that were answer enough.

“What about him?” Bucky’s confused voice chimed in.

“We used the same drug that brought Coulson back on Skye, though I still don’t know why he came running in yelling for me not to use it. Skye was dying on me any way, there are only so many times you can resuscitate someone before they suffer permanent brain damage,” Jemma muttered sullenly, she was still a little perturbed about not knowing more about that miracle drug.

“Jemma, you’re not helping the situation any!” Skye snapped before dragging her fingers through her hair.

Studying Clint, Skye suspected he was a split second away from storming off to look for Coulson for answers, pushing off the coffee table Skye took two steps forward and dropped onto her knees on the couch before moving to straddle Clint’s thighs. Bringing both her hands to Clint’s cheeks Skye whispered;

“Clint, _breathe_. Deep calm breaths and look at me. This is me still here alive and kicking despite Quinn’s best attempt at knocking me off.”

When she suddenly found herself crushed against Clint with his arms clamped vicelike around her, Skye’s breath rushed out in a whoosh, Skye felt more than heard the feral snarl rumbling in Clint’s chest as he growled;

“Quinn? _Ian_ Quinn, the billionaire philanthropist?”

Sighing softly Skye dropped her chin to rest on Clint’s shoulder, she hadn’t realised that she’d let Quinn’s name slip out, she had been more focused on trying to get Clint to calm down.

“And terrorist. But yes, that’s him.”

The sudden sting in her arm had Skye jerking within Clint’s vicelike hold, lifting her head she turned her gaze onto Jemma as she was depressing the plunger of the syringe now lodged in her upper arm and petulantly muttered;

“Ow. Simmons what is it with you and needles around me? You’re either draining me dry of blood for testing or randomly jabbing shots into me.”

Clint’s sudden rumble of laughter that vibrated through him somehow managed to defuse Skye’s sudden annoyance with her best friend, holding her hand out Jemma popped a small pill into her waiting palm.

After swallowing it dry Skye pulled a face, leaning back against Clint’s hold she frowned as her stomach growled loud enough for everyone to hear, groaning quietly she slumped into Clint and buried her face against the side of his neck muttering;

“Do you think breakfast is still on? I could really use food.”

“With how much Steve and Bucky eat breakfast is usually a couple of hours and a buffet ordeal. But at the same time if it’s finished it gives me an excuse to get you out of the tower and away from your over protective family.”

“Feed me first before you start plotting more ways to try and wear me out, buster,” Skye muttered against Clint’s neck before forcing herself to push back away from him and onto her feet.

He followed her at once, though, his arm curling around her waist, his face nuzzling her hair aside so he could press kisses on her neck. “Oh, beautiful. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

Skye was about half a second from dragging Clint back to her room and ripping his clothes to shreds when Jemma’s cough brought her back to reality.

“This is really, really distracting,” Skye mumbled, her eyes locked with Clint’s.

“I totally agree,” Jemma said. Bucky hadn’t even bothered to put his shirt back on, so Skye cast Jemma a sympathetic grin. At least Clint had covered up his muscles. Some of his muscles. _Why didn’t any of his shirts have sleeves?_

“I haven’t had breakfast either,” Jemma said, linking her arm through Skye’s and tugging.

Skye looked at Jemma just in time to see her friend blush scarlet as they heard Bucky murmur;

“Good idea. You’ll need the energy, doll.”

 


	9. Doomed

Skye had to bite her lip in order to not laugh at Jemma’s embarrassment; she suddenly recalled after Bucky’s comment his well documented reputation as a ladies man. As they moved towards the elevator Skye nudged Jemma with her shoulder and whispered;

“You’re so doomed, and in case you’re wondering why I have four words for you. Super-soldier refractory period.”

When Jemma turned her head towards her with wide eyes and a quiet gasp which was promptly followed by her quietly murmured;

“Oh God, Mike Peterson said something about that – you think…?”

“DOOMED.” Skye smirked at her best friend while giving her arm a gentle squeeze.

A low filthy sounding chuckle from behind them had Jemma turning to glance over her shoulder and found Bucky’s piercing blue eyes raking over her, by the hungry look in the depths of those gorgeous eyes she gathered he’d been undressing her with his eyes.

If it was possibly Jemma swore her cheeks heated even more as she turned back to Skye mumbling;

“Super-soldier hearing, too. It’s going to be very difficult to have private girly conversations.”

Turning back to glare at Bucky as Skye made a strangled groan, Jemma watched dazedly as Bucky languidly licked his lips which caused Jemma to trip over her own feet.

It was like slow motion to Skye as Jemma tripped over her own feet, in fact if a pair of mismatched arms hadn’t suddenly reached swiftly to wrap around Jemma’s waist she’d have likely fallen flat on her face and taken Skye along with her.

As it were Skye herself stumbled slightly before she felt the brush of bare knuckles at her lower back as a hand – which she was assuming was Clint’s – grasped the back of the waistband of her borrowed jeans.

“Nice reflexes……for a ninety-eight year old.” Skye quipped while glancing at Bucky.

“Barton might not put you over his knee Skye, but I have no such qualms about teaching you respect.” Bucky retorted with a wry grin.

“You could try….old man, unfortunately my respect has to be earned.”

When the elevator door open Skye made her way inside with Jemma her gaze dropping to the shirt lying on the floor, looking back to Jemma with one brow arched she shook her head slightly.

“James, put your shirt back on please? I’d rather not have to explain why you’re shirtless.” Jemma pleaded.

Silence filled the elevator as they rode back up to the common floor, Skye used the opportunity to try and rally her thoughts, if she was questioned by Coulson or May as to why she was late to breakfast well Skye honestly didn’t think she’d be able to successfully lie to the closest thing she had to parents.

As the doors finally parted Skye hung back with Jemma in order to let Clint and Bucky move out first, falling into step behind them Skye did her best – yet failed miserably – not to look at Clint’s magnificent denim clad ass a glance in Jemma’s direction found her having the same dilemma in regards to Bucky.

Moving out into the common room with Jemma, Skye took a moment to let her gaze drift over the people littered around the table. It didn’t escape her notice how there were two empty seats on either side of the table, two amidst the Avengers and two amidst her own team.

Somehow Skye suspected that was intentional and that slightly annoyed her, she wasn’t aware of being spoken to until Jemma nudged her jerking her from her internal frustration.

“Huh, what?”

Following Jemma’s gaze she saw Coulson’s brow furrowing in what she assumed was concern, offering a small smile Skye said simply;

“Sorry, I’m not all together with it today; I didn’t sleep well last night.”

Steve Rogers choked on his toast, going beet red as his eyes flickered from her to Clint. He’d clearly jumped to entirely the correct conclusion. Or, oh shit, super-soldier hearing – maybe he’d somehow heard something last night?

It was too obvious a reaction to miss, especially for astute people like May and Coulson.

“Oh, Skye, tell me you didn’t! _How?_ ” May blurted.

Skye just couldn’t face it. So she threw Jemma to the wolves instead.

“Hey everybody, surprise, turns out Jemma’s soulmate is a nonagenarian ex-Russian assassin, who’d’a thunk it?”

“I am _so_ going to kill you,” Jemma groaned as every eye in the room turned to her.

“This is payback for telling Clint I flatlined,” Skye muttered out of the corner of her mouth, sidling away towards the buffet.

Stopping behind Bucky, Skye poked him lightly in the shoulder to draw his attention away from the food, when those piercing blue eyes locked on hers Skye swallowed suddenly and mumbled;

“You might want to go help Jemma, I kinda threw her to the wolves when your best buddy went beet red and started looking between Clint and I.”

Skye saw Clint tense in her peripheral vision as she watched Bucky frown before he suddenly looked over the top of her head with an icy glare, instantly her mind screamed _oh shit, what have I done_.

Looking between Clint’s tense form and the buffet he was still loading his plate up from Skye suddenly found herself torn, she didn’t know whether to grab a plate of food and eat or grab Clint and hightail it before May managed to separate herself from the rest of the group.

Stepping up behind Clint, Skye slipped her arms around his waist dropping her head to rest her forehead between his shoulders. She could feel the tension almost thrumming in Clint.

“Kinda regretting coming out of my room now.”

Skye’s quiet murmur into his back had Clint grunting softly in agreement as he finished loading the plate in his hands, dropping one hand to close over Skye’s with a slight squeeze he whispered;

“We’d have had to come out for food regardless beautiful, plus they were going to find out eventually.”

“May’s not going to be happy, she sounded disappointed in me and I’ve never heard that tone from her before.”

Skye’s voice wavered and Clint couldn’t quite place her tone but she sounded just a little bit scared and uncertain, setting the plate down he turned in her arms and pulled Skye into his chest hugging her.

“I am disappointed Skye, you promised me you wouldn’t leave your room.”

May’s eerily calm voice drifted over them and Clint felt Skye tense once again in his arms, he felt more than saw Skye turn her head so her cheek rested against his chest as she mumbled quietly;

“I didn’t! I was in my room all night.”

“Obviously not alone. Skye, we were trying to protect you. Soulbonds that are rushed rarely turn out well.”

Clint was bristling at the conversation occurring before him, his soulmate was not some waif who needed protecting – from him of all people – he could almost feel Skye withdrawing into herself.

His heart wrenched at the thought of his beautiful, brave, snarky girl being thoroughly dressed down for something that wasn’t her fault. Clint was at least partly thankful that May was keeping her voice down though he suspected Bucky and Steve could hear every word being said.

When Clint heard Skye’s strangled whimper moments before she pulled free of his hold, his temper flared hotly as he watched Skye take off like the hounds of hell were on her tail, turning his steely gaze onto May he snarled slightly louder than was necessary;

“If you were so fucking worried about her you’d have done a better fucking job of protecting her from that scumbag Quinn. Which reminds me, I want that bastard found so he can be dealt with appropriately.”

“Barton, you don’t have…..”

“Coulson if you say I don’t have the clearance to have the whole story you can shove it, Skye and Jemma told me enough.”

May’s hand landing on his shoulder had Clint levelling his angry gaze on his fellow agent, something in her eyes and the taut set of her mouth told him he wasn’t going to like what she was about to say.

“Barton, when the doctor told us Skye was dying I went straight back to the Bus and beat the shit out of Quinn for what he did to her, I decided if Skye was going to die then so was he. My decision unfortunately was overwritten” He noticed here May stalled as her gaze darted to Coulson who shifted uncomfortably in his seat before she continued “Then he was taken from us by Garrett on orders from SHIELD higher ups, Quinn was to go in for questioning. We went against orders kept Quinn on the Bus till we were sure Skye was going to pull through, because if she didn’t he sure as hell wasn’t going to be living another day.”

“And yet the bastard still lives and is free and clear so I honestly don’t give a fuck what you had intended May, because if you truly cared for her Quinn would be dead and you wouldn’t be treating her like a god damned child who doesn’t know her own mind.”

In his current state of anger Clint found his appetite had suddenly disappeared, pulling away from May’s hand he stalked through the spacious dining area slamming one fist firmly into a nearby wall as he made his way towards the elevator.

“JARVIS, where’s Skye?”

Clint queried of the ever present AI once he was within the elevator, leaning against the rear wall he raked his hands through his hair in frustration as he awaited a response.

“Miss Skye is currently on your floor with Miss Romanoff, Mr Barton. Would you like for me to take you there now and restrict access to your floor?”

“Please JARVIS.”

As the elevator started moving Clint closed his eyes and tried to work out how Skye wound up on his floor, the only logical way he could think of – and there fore the most likely – was that Natasha had seen her bolt and had somehow managed to discreetly go after her.

Stalking from the elevator Clint lets his gaze roam the expanse of his floor looking for both women, catching the barest glimpse of red in his peripheral vision he made his way towards the kitchenette.

He found Natasha rifling through his cupboards and watched silently as she pulled out a large bowl and his cereal stash, arching one brow as she moved to get the milk from the fridge he spoke quietly;

“Thought you hated my taste in cereal, Tasha.”

“I do, but Skye is hungry and apparently has the same terrible taste in cereal you do.”

“How is she Tasha?”

“Seen worse Clint, seen better too. I don’t know what was said but whatever it was has seriously rattled her.”

Leaning against the counter Clint watched Natasha pour the cereal and milk into the bowl, raking a hand through his hair again before he spoke.

“I think she’s had serious issues with trusting people in the past Tasha, and now one of the few she _does_ trust is disappointed in her. Disappointed because their efforts to protect her from _me,_ from our bond failed, they’re treating her like a child.”

“Clint, your temper is not going to help matters. Get your shit together, I know you’re angry on _her_ behalf, but right now she needs _you_ more than your rage.”

When Natasha crossed to him and handed him the bowl of cereal and spoons Clint blinked, at times he and Natasha seemed to flawlessly understand each other, at the moment not so much.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stalking back into the safe house he and Cal were currently staying in Ward was less than impressed by Cal sending him off on some random scouting mission. He’d wanted to be involved in that mission at Syracuse when they’d found out Coulson’s team had taken the bait, had even hoped that maybe he’d be able to grab Skye.

Dumping his kit bag by the couch Ward crossed to the laptop set up on the kitchen table, he was slightly grateful that Cal had agreed to record the events of Syracuse after Ward had suggested it citing that it would give them insight as to how Coulson’s team worked together as well as finding out exactly what kind of abilities the Diviner had graced Skye…..no Daisy – he really needed to get used to calling her that, especially given the way Cal’s temper flared at even the briefest mention of the name Skye – with.

As he started the footage it took Ward a while to pinpoint Skye’s location, he _had_ half expected to see her in the midst of the fray with Morse, Hunter or even May, but no she’d instead opted to take higher ground taking out the HYDRA mercenaries with a high powered sniper rifle.

Inwardly he was proud that _his_ girl was that smart and talented, though it was likely May who taught her to shoot and pick the best sniper perches it was ultimately his own betrayal of Skye that had urged her to fully commit to her training.

Switching to a camera angle closer to Skye’s perch he watched with a twisted grin as she picked off Cal’s hired lackeys, though the moment he spotted the panicked look in her dark eyes mere moments before the perch fell out beneath her his twisted heart skipped a beat.

Ward hadn’t even realised he’d held his breath as a knot of fear twisted deep within his gut, just when he’d thought Skye’s precarious grasp on the lone beam wouldn’t hold he caught the glimpse of a man clad in some kind of black tactical gear – which he realised upon close perusal was vaguely similar to SHEILD’s standard issue tactical – swing in and wrap one arm around Skye’s waist before swinging back out of the shot.

It took Ward a couple of viewings to realise the man had a quiver on his back and was holding onto a bow when he swung in the shot, in fact about the only person that came to his mind in regards to a bow was Clint Barton.

His dark eyes narrowed with anger as he saw how closely Skye was clinging to Barton. She was _his_. Nobody else got to touch Skye.

 


	10. Awkward Moments

_ _

_So I was going for an emotional Clint here and figured this pic kinda suited. Don't get too distracted._

 

Skye had spent the better part of the day on Clint’s personal floor trying to rein in her tumultuous emotions, she’d tried the meditations Bobbi had taught her, the tai chi May had shared and had even tried Hunter’s go to of whaling on the punching bag, and still peace of mind eluded her.

Clint had even offered to spar with her, which she had politely refused. Skye had no doubt that if they’d sparred things would have detoured into something a lot more intimate, though that might have been a welcome distraction for her Skye really didn’t want to use Clint like that.

Skye had been aware of his reassuring presence for most of the time, he’d always been in the background in some form, whether he was making adjustments on one of his bows, cleaning not only his sidearm but hers – though she wasn’t entirely sure exactly _how_ he’d gotten hers – to holding the punching bag still for her.

However, as the time had passed Skye had become aware of Clint’s own frustration rising. So she really hadn’t been surprised when he’d tugged her from her seated position on the floor, fastened her sidearm belt and holster around her waist and thigh before sliding her sidearm into the holster.

The sheer size of the shooting range had been surprising though; it was seriously bigger than the Playground’s. Skye had watched stunned as Clint had prodded away at a touch screen in the wall beside the door to have shooting stalls emerge from the floor.

Falling into a silent routine in their individual stalls Skye was surprised by exactly how much shooting the targets helped her mind to focus, the quiet thunk of Clint’s arrows hitting his targets as she reloaded had Skye holstering her sidearm.

Leaning forward on the stall Skye squinted at his targets which she realised were set further back than the ones she’d been using, moving out of her stall Skye made her way down to Clint’s just as he slung his bow over his shoulder and went to retrieve his arrows.

“So, what are the chances I could convince you to teach me to shoot a bow?”

“Pretty good, but not today I’m afraid. The draw on my bow will be too much for you, but if you really want to learn I can adjust the draw weight on one of my backup bows for you?”

“I’ll hold you to that, thank you for this, Clint.”

“Consider it a future date and you’re welcome Skye, I know what it’s like to need to clear your head.”

Skye had been about to speak when a bodiless throat cleared, she still wasn’t used to the fact that Stark’s AI was _everywhere_.

“Forgive my interruption Mr Barton, Miss Skye but Director Coulson has requested Miss Skye’s presence on the guest floor where they were staying.” JARVIS stated crisply.

“ _Were_? We’re leaving?” Skye asked quietly as her gaze drifted towards the ceiling.

“I do not know Miss, the Director only asked me to request your presence.”

“Thanks JARVIS, let Phil know she’s on her way.”

Blinking Skye looked to Clint quizzically; she had to wonder if that was his way of asking for space, time apart to assess what exactly they were and even though she didn’t really know him the idea of leaving caused a dull ache to blossom in her chest.

Warring with her indecision Skye turned towards the door knowing her expression would be clear evidence of her inner turmoil over whether to stay with her soulmate or leave with those she considered her family.

It was Clint’s calloused fingers curling around her wrist that stalled her movements to leave, a light tug on her wrist had Skye turning back to face Clint as he rumbled;

“I don’t want you to leave Skye, just so we’re clear on the matter, but I’m also not going to force you to stay. Instead I’m asking you to stay with me, please? I want us to get to know each other.”

“I want that too. I don’t want to leave Clint, but the team are the closest thing I have to a family. Is it okay if I go speak with them and see what’s going on before I give you an answer?”

Skye’s only response was Clint’s slight nod before he leant in to brush his lips against her forehead and then turned himself back to his targets, turning around Skye made her way quickly back towards the elevator.

The ride to the guest floor couldn’t go fast enough for Skye, when the doors finally opened and allowed her to step out onto the guest floor she spotted Coulson over by the bar and made her way over to him.

“DC? What’s going on?”

“We’re heading back to base, Skye.” Coulson stated matter of factly his tone unflappable.

Before Skye could even finish processing that particular comment and form a coherent response, Coulson had raised a hand to stop her from talking as he spoke again.

“I’m not even going to bother trying to make it an order for you or Jemma, she has already voiced her disapproval at the thought of leaving at this time and I imagine you were about to do the same. Neither of you will be forced into doing something you don’t want and if the two of you want time alone with your soulmates I can hardly begrudge either of you that.”

Throwing her arms around Coulson, Skye hugged him tightly; the man really was everything she’d ever wished for in a father as a child being bounced from foster home to foster home and she knew how protective he felt of her, Jemma and Fitz. They were like his kids and now he had to entrust two of them to a man technically older than him and his former asset.

“I promise to stay in touch and it’s not like you could really get rid of me since I can always get into your systems.”

It was as she was saying her goodbyes – for now anyways – that May dragged her into the room Skye had spent the previous night in, blinking suddenly Skye studied her mentor’s expression. May looked contemplative and yet concerned at the same time.

“Tell him, Skye. You don’t want to be keeping secrets from your soulmate, and Barton’s the most observant person I know. He sees things better from a distance so the longer you try to keep it from him the more he’s going to dig. Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want him finding out another way, it’d be best if he learnt it from you.”

As she processed what May had just said Skye felt her brow furrow, crossing her arms defensively over her chest she cocked her head slightly to watch the only person she’d ever thought of as a mother figure as she mumbled;

“You’re talking about Ward and Cal? May….I don’t know if I can do that. Cal is, well you know I don’t think of him as family, not after what he did to Coulson and Ward - if _he_ found out about Clint he’d go after him, we both know that.”

“That is why you need to tell him, Barton works best when his back is to the wall and he has all the facts. If he knows in advance what may be coming then he can plan and prepare for it, if he finds out about Ward on his own then he’s going to jump to the wrong conclusion and you don’t want that Skye. Your bond with Barton is new, it’s still forming…..still growing, if you hide this from him you’ll lose his trust and that will take a long time to earn back if you can at all.”

When May turned to leave the room Skye reached out to touch her shoulder lightly, as May turned slightly to look back at Skye she chewed her lower lip nervously before eventually whispering;

“May, do me a favour? Look after DC and the others for me? I’d never forgive myself if something happened to them in my absence; all of you are the closest thing I’ve ever had to a family. We may not be normal, but honestly how many families truly are normal these days?”

“That I can do, and Skye tell him _everything_. Your ability included, I know that you’ve been working to try and contain it because you’re afraid of hurting people, afraid of being looked at as though you are a monster, but Barton is the one person who won’t judge you, he’ll love you unconditionally regardless. He wasn’t always a hero you know, he was Fury’s best wet work specialist until he made a different call with Romanoff.”

Skye frowned. “That implies he wasn’t afterwards?”

“No,” May said dryly. “Then it was Romanoff. With Barton a close second. His past before SHIELD was even uglier. And as for the Loki thing…” May shrugged. “He lost everything, Skye. Nobody at SHIELD would trust him after that, even though it wasn’t his fault. With Coulson gone, there was no one left to argue for him with the higher-ups. He and Romanoff walked, and I don’t blame either of them for a moment.”

Skye nodded slowly, considering May’s words. Perhaps Clint really would understand. He had his own demons to fight, it seemed.

Once she was back in the elevator and the doors had closed blocking out the sight of her team preparing to leave Skye let her brave face crack, wrapping her arms around her midsection she leant back against the rear wall. With a quiet shaky sigh she turned her gaze to the ceiling and queried;

“JARVIS, is Clint still in the shooting range?”

“He is, Miss. Would you like me to take you there?”

“Please and thank you.”

 

Clint had been in the far back of the shooting range carefully pulling each of his arrows from the targets and inspecting them before returning them to his quiver when he heard the quiet click of the door closing.

As he turned to walk back to the stall he could see Skye by the door and given the slight incline of her head towards the ceiling he gathered she was talking to JARVIS, moving through the stalls Clint made his way to the weapons bench in the corner where he deposited his bow and quiver before turning to sit back on the edge of the counter to watch Skye’s languid approach.

Even from this distance he could see the sadness etched in her small stature, the way she hugged her middle and worried her bottom lip were clear indicators to him that something was going on. He surprised himself when before she’d even reached him or had a chance to speak he stated flatly;

“So you’re leaving.”

Turning back to his bow Clint scrabbled roughly amidst the tools on the bench seeking the cleaning cloth and wax, he hadn’t phrased it as a question, hadn’t needed to, and years of being abandoned throughout his life had taught him how to read body language.

Focusing his attention on waxing his bowstring Clint was trying – and most likely failing – to conceal his disappointment that Skye was leaving, though inside his head were the thoughts of _why would she stay? She doesn’t even know you; you only just met yesterday during what was for her possibly a traumatic experience._

The slight movement in his peripheral vision told Clint that Skye had just hauled herself up to sit on the weapons bench beside him, this was confirmed when her slight hand settled on his forearm moments before she quietly said;

“No, I’m not leaving, the others are. Unless you’ve changed your mind while I was gone and you want me to leave?”

The momentary sigh of relief that rushed through Clint was soon quelled; by not only the uncertain waver in Skye’s voice at the end but the way she slowly began to ease her hand back from his forearm. Hastily dropping the cleaning cloth Clint covered her retreating hand with his as he barked;

“Hell no! I don’t want you to go, but at the same time I can’t work out why you’d want to stay if the closest thing you have to family is pulling up stakes.”

Clint had turned while speaking and was currently watching what he could only describe as an incredulous look form on Skye’s face, the slow blink of her dark eyes as her breath whooshed out in a soft sigh was more than a little familiar, almost a feminine equivalent of Coulson’s exasperation.

“For you, you adorable idiot. It’s not like I’ll _never_ see them again, they’re only a six hour or so drive away and I’ll still have access to the Playground, plus Jemma is staying so it’s not like I’m completely abandoned. She’s impossible sometimes but she is my best friend.”

When he thought about that Clint could admit Skye had a point, if SHIELD’s base was only a few hours away it’d be easy enough for her to visit and if she was needed to go out into the field well then they could either pick her up enroute or he could use the Avengers quinjet to drop her off.

Propping his hip against the bench, Clint’s fingers brushed idly along the back of Skye’s hand that was still resting on his forearm; cocking his head slightly to one side he studied her face. Skye had gone back to worrying her bottom lip with her teeth; he was getting the impression that, along with chewing on her thumb nail, were his best indicators of working out when something was troubling her.

“So, we need to talk Clint, umm is now a good time? I mean if now’s not good we can do it later.”

“I’m all ears beautiful. JARVIS activate privacy mode please.”

“Privacy mode enabled Mr Barton, all recording devices are now shut down.”

“Huh, that’s handy and saves me from having to hack into Stark’s servers and remove this conversation from existence.”

Clint was pretty sure that particular comment had both his brows arching to his hairline, the casual ease with which she spoke about hacking into Stark’s servers hinted at a darker past than he had suspected.

“You’re a hacker then, is that how you wound up with Coulson?”

“Kinda, it’s not what I was planning on telling you but it’s probably a good place to start. See I was working with the Rising Tide, I thought of myself as a Hacktivist and thought that SHIELD were bad men in black suits, so I was working to expose them. Got on their radar in a bad way and found myself being detained temporarily by Coulson and one of his team.”

“I soon learnt how wrong I was when one of my ex’s hacked SHIELD and sold off information that resulted in the abduction, torture and death of a powered individual off SHIELD’s asset register.”

When Skye fell silent momentarily Clint could see the silent anguish in her eyes, the entire ordeal had obviously been painful and yet enlightening for her. It wasn’t the first time Coulson had picked someone up from the wrong side of the tracks and managed to change their life for the better and he highly doubted she’d be the last.

“You said that this wasn’t what you were planning to discuss? We can move on to that if you’d prefer?” Clint murmured quietly as he gave a reassuring squeeze to her hand.

“Hmm that’s not much better, but yeah let’s do that. I have worse enemies than Quinn, Clint, and one of them will come after you when he finds out about _us_.”

It wasn’t hard for Clint to miss the fact that this was obviously hard for Skye to discuss, her hand resting on his forearm was damp and her gaze was now turned away from him and he got the distinct impression that Skye was ashamed about whatever it was she was planning to tell him.

“There was a guy that I kind of thought I had feelings for and I thought he cared for me. Remember when I told you the last man I trusted who wasn’t Coulson wound up being HYDRA? Well that was this guy, he was the specialist on Coulson’s team and for a time my SO.”

“He got a name, Skye?”

“Ward, Grant Ward. I thought he cared about me, but then he killed one of us and I was forced to play dumb and leave with him in order to warn Coulson. Ward is crazy, Clint, he thinks I’m _his_ , that what we have is some kind of predestined true love given both of us had shitty starts to our lives.”

The slight waver of fear in Skye’s voice was impossible to miss and had Clint carefully extracting his arm from her hold as he pushed his hip off the work bench, with how Skye was sitting on the edge of the bench with her legs parted, feet dangling and swinging restlessly it was easy for Clint to situate himself between her legs.

Settling his hands on Skye’s denim clad thighs, Clint shifted subtly to meet her eyes, those dark eyes of hers told a story all on their own when it came to Ward, and he could see the mix of fear, revulsion and anger within their depths.

“A lot of shit happened that I kind of don’t want to cover entirely at the moment, but I promise I will tell it all to you, right now I’m sticking to the big stuff. So several months ago Ward led a raid on the Bus to reclaim an asset that HYDRA needed and he decided it was time that he fulfilled the promise he made to me about taking me to meet my _father_.”

Clint blinked at the slightly venomous tone of Skye’s voice at the mention of her father and he definitely didn’t miss the way her eyes flicked away from his as they started to shimmer with unshed tears.

“It was Ward’s fault I was separated from the team before San Juan, his fault I was forced into the same room with the psychotic monster that is my father. My father is a murderer, Clint, I don’t know what he was like before that HYDRA bastard Whitehall vivisected my mother and left her remains for Cal to find, but he willingly chose to turn into a monster to avenge her and fucking Ward handed me to him on a silver platter.”

Curling one arm round Skye’s waist, Clint moved his other to stroke his hand soothingly along her back as Skye dropped her chin to rest on his shoulder, he didn’t speak, wasn’t going to push her to reveal anything she didn’t want to right then and instead tried to silently reassure her.

“Cal wouldn’t shut up about how he was going to rip Whitehall apart for separating his family and about how the Diviner was part of my greater destiny. I wasn’t even supposed to _be_ in San Juan, Coulson wanted me safe with May on the Bus and instead I was forced to watch my genetic father beat the shit out of the only man I’ve ever considered a father.”

Skye’s hands clenching in the side of his t-shirt was a clear indicator of her anger over the situation she was reliving, so much so that Clint _almost_ missed the fact that the tools along with his bow and quiver on the work bench were vibrating slightly.

“I had to go down into that fucked up alien city to stop Raina, that turned out to be my biggest mistake as the obelisk activated, I don’t remember what exactly happened other than a liquid substance cocooning me and when I _emerged_ I guess is the best word, Trip was dead almost at my feet. I lost it and destroyed the city, my out of control emotions fuelling me, my abilities.”

His gaze drifted momentarily from Skye as the clattering of loose objects on the bench got louder, the soft gasp from Skye’s throat combined with her hands forcefully shoving him back so she could scramble off the bench and back away from him had Clint more than a little confused. He almost missed her quiet muttering of;

“I’m barely human anymore. I’m as big a monster as _he_ is.”

Whatever Skye was doing was increasing in strength given that Clint could now _feel_ the floor vibrating beneath his feet, her currently unstable emotions once again fuelling her ability, he could see her withdrawing into herself still mumbling quietly about monsters.

Clint closed the distance between them effortlessly in a couple of long strides, when he was close enough and before Skye had a chance to flee Clint reached out to pull Skye into his chest. Dropping his head so he could brush kisses against Skye’s hair as one of his hands stroked her back soothingly Clint began murmuring quietly.

“Skye, my beautiful girl, my soulmate, none of this changes how I see you or how I feel about you. You are _not_ a monster and anyone who says such a thing about you is going to be very lucky if they live to regret saying it when I’m done with them.”

A loud crack and clang echoed through the room as one of the glass windows cracked and tools fell off the bench to the floor, startling Skye. As she tried to pull back Clint locked his arms around her and looked down to her face, meeting wide fearful dark eyes.

“Breathe Skye, I saw you last night with the window remember, you have some control over your ability so I know deep down in my gut that you can rein this in, beautiful.”

Skye’s shaky inhale of breath was followed by her arms wrapping lightly around his waist, her dark eyes drifted shut as her fearful expression shifted to one of concentration. In all honesty Clint wasn’t sure her efforts were working straight away, at least not until the vibration beneath his feet gradually eased before ceasing entirely.

It was at this point the door to the shooting range burst open causing Clint to jerk his gaze from Skye as his head swung towards the door, his eyes narrowing slightly as his gaze fell upon Bucky and Jemma, the former pointing some form of gun he’d never seen before at Skye.

Tightening his arms around Skye, Clint turned them, positioning his larger body between Skye and his fellow sniper, he didn’t miss when the vibration beneath his feet began again. Skye had almost had her ability reined in before the sudden intrusion had distracted her, he was vaguely aware of Jemma’s quiet voice telling Bucky to shoot Skye.

“No Bucky, she’s got this. Let her get this under control.” Clint growled as his head turned to watch the indecision warring on Bucky’s face.

“No she doesn’t! She’s never been able to stop it when she has an episode outside her control, we’ve always had to tranq her,” Jemma snapped in a prim tone that Clint was sure had one of his brows raising in silent question, the disbelieving look on the petite scientists face rubbing Clint the wrong way. It was no wonder Skye had so little faith in being able to control her abilities if her own friends, her own _family_ he mentally corrected, had no faith in her to do so.

“Have you ever given her a chance to try? Any of you? How do you expect her to learn control if every time she loses control you all rush in and tranquilise her?” Clint barked back.

He relaxed albeit slightly when Bucky at least lowered the strange looking tranq gun, though when Jemma reached to try and snatch the gun from Bucky he tensed, at least until Bucky’s metal arm locked around the petite woman’s waist.

“He has a point doll, if ya don’t give her the chance Skye’s never gonna learn control. I know you’re trying to help her but at the moment I think your current methods are more a hindrance than helping.” Bucky chimed in casually.

“You’re right, Bucky.” Jemma said quietly as she headed towards Skye, her hands held out as she murmured “Skye – I’m sorry. We’ve all been so scared of the possibility of the roof falling in on our heads that we’ve been working on prevention, not cure.”

“Both of which are incorrect terms.” Clint snapped brusquely, his gaze not leaving Jemma and her slow and steady approach. “I’ve known enough people with powers or abilities whatever you want to call it, one way or another, to know that trying to shut them down from using their gifts is a recipe for disaster. And Skye doesn’t need curing. She’s perfect as she is.”

Jemma squeezed her eyes shut, shamed. “You’re right too,” she admitted. “Tell me what I can do. What _we_ can do, to help Skye get through to the point where _she’s_ in control.”

Clint’s hackles settled as he saw just how truly remorseful Jemma looked. Bucky slid his arm around Jemma’s waist again, pulling her to lean on him, bending his head to kiss her hair as he murmured;

“From what I know, doll? Time and practice is the only way. And,” he looked at Skye, “acceptance. By you and those around you. And you’re certainly in the right place for that. The Avengers even took me in. I’m pretty sure they’ve got a place in their hearts for you.”

“Although not if you’re going to keep breaking my windows,” Tony’s dry voice came from behind Bucky and Jemma.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward had taken his anger out on the small living room of the safe house, every piece of furniture currently upended and scattered precariously, when the door to the safe house opened he whirled, gun in hand, his narrow gaze locked on the door in the now dimly lit room.

As Agent Thirty-Three stepped in Ward lowered his gun to point at the floor, when she did a precursory sweep of the trashed room and arched one delicate brow upwards he was momentarily reminded of May. The other former agent who didn’t even know her own name still wore the damaged face veil, though Cal had agreed to see if he could find a way to remove it.

Holstering his gun Ward turned on one booted foot to stalk back to the laptop in the kitchen, pointedly ignoring his companion’s computerised voice quietly muttering a long strong of various profanities in various languages.

Ward knew he needed to focus on his problem now that the majority of the rage was out of his system, he needed to find appropriate help in dealing with Barton. Though he’d have preferred to deal with the former agent himself, he wasn’t stupid and like everyone else who had been SHIELD Ward knew Barton’s reputation.

The man had been Fury’s number one cold-blooded killer for years, until he’d brought Romanoff in and then he’d been a very close second, though most people preferred to say they were tied for the title since mostly Fury had always sent them both out together.

While he had faith in his own skills Ward knew he was no match for Barton, he hadn’t even been able to beat Barton’s ranged distance shooting record in the academy no matter how many times he tried.

Though his and Barton’s technical skills were similar, they were both trained as SHIELD specialists after all, Barton had an entirely different skill set that he’d come into SHIELD knowing and still used to this day.

Ward considered tracking down Crossbones right up until he recalled how loyal the older man was to HYDRA and after careful consideration scratched that name right off his mental list.

Working his way through the mercenary list that he could recall, Ward considered trying to locate Batroc but there were rumours that he hadn’t been seen since Captain America had thoroughly kicked his ass.

Apparently he was even desperate enough to consider the one merc he swore he’d _never_ work with, there was a reason Wilson was known as the merc with a mouth because once the deadly son of a bitch started talking you were lucky if you could get him to shut the fuck up again _ever_.

There was one other possibility that lingered in the depths of his mind, one that he’d overheard during a rather heated and venomous conversation between Fury and Barton, though he couldn’t recall the name it had something to do with _shot_.

Deadshot? No that wasn’t it, Ward was certain but it was along the right track….wait track, _trick_ that was it, Trickshot! Turning his attention to the laptop he enabled the encryption and set to work hacking into the FBI’s database, granted hacking had never been his forte but he had picked up some basic skills from watching Skye work.

Though his skill was nowhere near that of his girl’s, for which Ward would be thankful when they finally recovered Skye and he could stop meddling with shit that was way beyond his skill set. It didn’t take him long to find the file he was after and to ghost copy it using a program of Skye’s he had _procured_ from her quarters aboard the Bus while it had been in Garrett’s custody.

After disconnecting from the secure database and disconnecting from the _borrowed_ wifi Ward double clicked the folder he’d just copied and waited. Ward quickly read through the various charges either proven or assumed to be Trickshot’s doing, nothing pointed him in the way of the man’s true identity at least not until one line at the very end.

_Trickshot thought to be FBI Agent Charles Bernard ‘Barney’ Barton, current location unknown and thought to be missing or deceased._

Was it possible, did Barton have a brother with skills similar to his own that Ward could use against him? This definitely required more research, and a meeting if Trickshot was still alive. Which Ward rather thought he might be. That argument between Fury and Barton he’d overheard had been long after the possible date of death listed in the FBI’s files.


	11. Winter Breaks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Due to some cunning thinking on Pepper's part, Jemma finally gets her man. Or the one where Bucky breaks upon finding Jemma mostly naked in his bed when he returns from a call out.

_ _

_A yummy Bucky image in his Winter Soldier gear. One of Ozhawk's favourites._

 

The past two days since Skye’s shooting range incident had been hectic to say the least, Jemma and Bucky had been dancing around each other and were always being chaperoned by either Steve or Natasha, Bucky had told her it was a precaution in case she accidentally set off one of his triggers.

But frankly Jemma thought that was utter crap, while she knew Bucky had grown up in a different age with different social standards she was well aware of his former reputation and she didn’t miss the hungry glances he quite often gave her. Yet Bucky was still adamant that they sleep in separate rooms and were never _ever_ alone.

Jemma was envious of Skye, her best friend had no such restrictions on her blossoming relationship with her soulmate, even if most of the past two days Skye had been holed up either in the gym working on her control with Steve or Bucky or in Dr Banner’s lab with him and Jemma running tests on Skye’s capabilities.

If she was truly honest, Jemma was grateful the team had been rudely awoken in the middle of the night and called out to attend to some situation that had been occurring deep in the Canadian Rockies, it meant that maybe she had a chance for some girl time without the risk of certain super-soldier ~~’~~ s overhearing their conversation.

Currently Jemma stood in the kitchen of the common floor wearing one of Bucky’s t-shirts and her underwear, glaring in frustration at the overly complex coffee maker sitting on the counter. While she normally preferred tea, in her current state of mind – combined with her current lack of a decent nights sleep – she was craving caffeine among other things.

“Why hasn’t Tony put an artificial intelligence in this bloody thing!” Jemma snapped in frustration.

“Because the last time he attempted that Jemma, his phone system developed an attitude and refused to connect his calls. Please don’t bring that up when he hasn’t slept or he’ll attempt it and I’d hate to think what kind of damage a sentient coffee maker would wreak upon the tower.” Pepper said calmly.

Jemma jumped whirling suddenly with one hand clutching at her chest as she came face to face with Pepper and Skye, she hadn’t heard them approach; after a cursory glance she concluded that was due to the both of them being barefoot.

Skye was obviously only just awake and in need of caffeine herself and attired not too dissimilarly to Jemma as she was bundled in what had to be one of Clint’s sweatshirts. Pepper meanwhile looked her usual elegant self, despite the fact the red velvet robe that hugged her was obviously Tony’s.

“Jemma, are you alright? You seem a little grumpy.” Skye queried quietly as she studied her friend’s face.

Stepping aside as Pepper made her way to the coffee maker to expertly get it working Jemma leant against the counter, sighing softly as her gaze drifted between both woman she lifted one hand to wave it idly as she mumbled;

“I’m fine. Sexually frustrated beyond measure but fine.”

“Wait, hold up? Sexually frustrated? How….no _why_?” Skye squeaked with disbelief.

“James is from the forties Skye, things were different back then between men and women. He is also trying to keep me _safe_.”

Jemma knew that sounded weak even to her own ears and upon glancing to Pepper and Skye saw the look of disbelief etched clearly upon both of their faces, her train of thought was suddenly derailed by Skye’s sudden outburst.

“Bullshit, I’ve read the history books on Barnes, not to mention Agent Carter’s files back at base. He has a reputation as a ladies man Jemma, as for keeping you safe well I’m calling double bullshit on that, you’re his soulmate I don’t think he’d be _capable_ of hurting you.”

“All a moot point I’m afraid, James is….stubborn. I can get him to concede to making out but if I try to coax him further it’s as though a switch flips in his head and he distances himself from me, usually by either locking himself in his bathroom or fleeing to I’m assuming Steve or Natasha’s floor,” Jemma said a little sullenly.

Taking the mug of steaming coffee that appeared in her line of sight Jemma sidled around the counter to take a seat at the breakfast bar, she soon found herself flanked by Pepper on one side and Skye on her other.

Staring into the mug as she rolled it between her fingers Jemma was certain Pepper and Skye were sharing glances over the top of her, taking a large sip of the deliciously scented coffee she sighed.

“It’s rude to talk about someone behind their back you know, even if you _are_ doing it silently,” Jemma said primly as she straightened to glance between the two women.

Skye at least had the decency to look away sheepishly as she scratched at her neck, while Pepper looked apologetic and concerned, Jemma blinked and turned her weary gaze back into the mug just as Skye’s hand settled on her back lightly patting between her shoulder blades.

“You look tired Jemma, maybe you should try and get some more sleep before the team arrive home?” Skye murmured.

With a non-committal hum Jemma pushed herself up off the stool and mug in hand wandered towards the elevator, more sleep was definitely sounding good right about now, preferably before her sexy as hell soulmate returned home to torment her further.

“I’m so having words with Barnes. Hey J? When are the guys due back?” Skye stated surprisingly calmly as she dragged her gaze from Jemma’s retreating back to glance at Pepper as she reached for her own mug of coffee to take a sip.

“By my estimates Miss Skye, they are approximately an hour from home.”

Pepper tilted her head consideringly. “I wonder.” She shared a glance with Skye. “There’s very few men who can resist finding a willing woman keeping their bed warm for them. JARVIS, I can override all locks in the tower, can’t I?”

“Yes, Miss Potts, you are the only person with that authority.”

“Then I think it’s time I used it. Jemma,” Pepper called to her before she reached the elevator, “Why don’t you go wait on Barnes’s floor for him? He’ll be back soon and no doubt eager to see you.”

Jemma frowned, puzzled.

“He’ll come find you when he gets back anyway. Go take a nap on his bed so he doesn’t have to come looking for you. JARVIS will let you in.”

Tired and a bit dazed, Jemma shrugged in acquiescence, oblivious to Pepper and Skye giggling conspiratorially together behind her back.

 

Bucky stood staring down at Jemma helplessly. Asleep on his bed, wearing one of his T-shirts, with as far as he could tell nothing underneath it – how was he supposed to behave like a gentleman with THAT in front of him? Slowly, he began to remove his weapons, attaching the guns and knives to the specially made rack on the wall Stark had built to hold them.

Once he had all his weapons stored, Bucky spared a glance in Jemma’s direction; as much as he _really_ did want to strip down and curl himself around her he was absolutely filthy, covered in sweat, grime and dried blood. There was no way known he was touching her while caked in remnants of death and destruction.

Padding silently into the bathroom Bucky partly closed the door before shedding his filthy uniform and dumping it into the hamper residing in the corner – where the hell the hamper had come from was beyond him, he’d always just thrown his clothes on the floor in the past but he assumed it was either the Punk or Red trying to civilise him – crossing to the shower he stepped inside and turned the water on, not even waiting for the temperature to reach his favoured norm.

Grabbing the bar of soap he made quick work of scrubbing himself clean of the grime and blood, from there he moved on to his hair it had been greasy prior to the mission now he dreaded to think what was caked amongst the grease. He had debated whether or not to cut his hair short again, maybe that was something he could discuss with Jemma, get her opinion on what she thought or rather what she preferred.

Drying himself off Bucky wrapped the towel around his waist and moved to the counter to run the comb through his long dark hair before it knotted, it was as he was looking at the reflection in the mirror – he still wasn’t used to the different face that stared back at him – he realised he was nervous.

While he recalled – very vague recollections at best – the Winter Soldier being ordered to sleep with woman it had been a _very_ long time since Bucky had been with a woman in any way, shape or form.

Moving silently back into his bedroom Bucky was forced to bite back a groan, while he’d been in the bathroom Jemma had obviously been restless in her sleep, where she had been curled slightly on her side, she was now sprawled on her back her hair fanned across one of his pillows.

What got to him the most of the scene before him however, was the fact his t-shirt had ridden up and now graced him with a glorious view of her slender legs and the barest tantalising peek of black underwear.

Easing himself down onto the bed as close to Jemma as was possible, his metallic arm propping his head up as his gaze raked over his gorgeous soulmate, his flesh and blood hand dropped to her knee and began to draw teasing circles along her inner thigh.

“Jemma?” Bucky murmured quietly.

Bucky’s only response was a quiet hum, stroking his hand higher along her thigh he delved beneath the hem of his t-shirt to splay his hand over Jemma’s stomach, leaning down he brushed light kisses across her face working his way to her ear he rumbled;

“Doll, you’re killing me here.”

“Good, maybe then you’ll realise just how silly this whole chivalrous thing you’re doing is.” Jemma mumbled sleepily as her hazel eyes slowly blinked open.

When Jemma’s hand settled on his chest and began idly stroking downwards, Bucky sucked in a sudden breath as her nimble fingers tugged his towel loose so she could stroke his growing arousal.

“Jemma,” he said her name hoarsely. “It’s not just about being chivalrous. I could hurt you, so easily, and I don’t think I could live with myself if I did that.”

Her other hand went to his cheek, making him look at her. “You won’t hurt me,” Jemma said with a quiet certainty. “You’re not made that way. James, my words appeared on you _long_ after you became the Asset.”

He could barely think, with what her clever fingers were doing. Had to bite down on the inside of his cheek so hard it almost bled to make himself say; “Are you sure, doll?”

Her smile was so beautiful. And then she flicked her fingers in a particular way that made his breath go ragged and his vision blur, just before she whispered, “I’m quite sure. Now shut up and kiss me.”

Well never let it be said that he didn’t obey orders, especially when they came from a beautiful woman, lowering his head he captured her mouth. His kisses started out gentle and languid his tongue exploring Jemma’s mouth, but the more her clever fingers worked over his growing length the wilder it drove him.

Their kisses grew more heated, Bucky eventually growling as Jemma bit his lip while squirming beneath his hand still splayed across her belly, gliding his hand down to slip beneath the waistband of her underwear he pinched Jemma’s clit firmly between his thumb and index finger.

Jemma’s quiet yelp of surprise finished as a needy moan as Bucky slid one finger easily into her slick, hot core, a low groan slipped free of his throat before he could stop it as her muscles involuntarily contracted around his middle finger.

When Jemma’s tormenting fingers released his now achingly hard length Bucky breathed a silent sigh of relief, if she’d kept up her ministrations much longer he’d likely have embarrassed himself, though there was still plenty of time to do that, really he couldn’t clearly recall the last time he’d been intimate with someone.

As Jemma shifted into a half seated position Bucky watched mesmerised as she pulled his t-shirt up over her head and discarded it, with a soft growl he leant over to close his mouth around the nipple of her left breast at the same instant his metallic hand closed feather light around her right.

 

Shuddering with a soft gasp Jemma brought one hand up to tangle her fingers in Bucky’s hair as her other stroked tentatively from his shoulder down along his metallic arm, flopping back onto the pillows she pulled Bucky down with her.

The strange contrast between Bucky’s skin and the metal of his arm had numerous medical and scientific questions blossoming within her mind, all of which flew right out the window with a brazen moan as he slid a second finger within her as he suckled and nipped at her breast while his metallic hand began a gentle kneading.

Writhing beneath Bucky’s ministrations Jemma bucked her hips up into Bucky’s hand as his probing fingers brushed across that tiny ridge of nerves hidden within her core. When Bucky lifted his head from her breast Jemma blinked dazedly at the hungry look in his normally haunted blue eyes, she couldn’t prevent the full body shudder that happened as his mouth and tongue traced their way down her sternum and across her belly.

“James, please?”

Honestly Jemma wasn’t sure what exactly she was begging for, though when Bucky eased his fingers from within her and out from beneath her underwear she _knew_ that wasn’t it and grumbled her disapproval.

All that managed to do was garner her a sharp nip of Bucky’s teeth on her hip – right over his words – the slight sting of pain was soon replaced by the soothing brush of his mouth and tongue. Jemma felt his hands move but her hazy brain couldn’t figure out what Bucky was up to, at least not until she heard a soft rip followed soon after by another and then Bucky’s cool metal hand slid beneath her lower back to lift her ass up.

When the heat of Bucky’s mouth disappeared from her hip as the mattress dipped to one side, forcing her eyes to flutter open – she’s not really sure when exactly she’d shut them – to see Bucky leaning over to rummage in the drawer of the nightstand, Jemma’s gaze drifted down from his muscular shoulders, along his back to lean hips before locking on his ass.

“Oh my, I could get used to that view.” Jemma mumbled softly as she shifted to brush a kiss between Bucky’s shoulder blades.

“That we can agree on Doll.”

Jemma felt her cheeks heat as she met Bucky’s gaze as he looked over his shoulder, before she could even blink a low rumble rolled through Bucky’s chest and Jemma suddenly found herself flat on her back with Bucky pinning her in place with his muscular body.

Wrapping her legs around Bucky’s lean hips Jemma slid her arms beneath his and round to settle on his shoulders as he dropped his head to nuzzle against her throat, when Bucky’s mouth latched onto the tender skin of her throat she couldn’t stop the moan that slipped out as her body arched as much as was possible into Bucky’s.

It was a strange sensation when Bucky’s hands settled on her hips, one hand was warm the other cool and it sent a delicious shiver through Jemma’s body as Bucky adjusted himself so that his sheathed erection teased just at her entrance.

“James, please. Want you, need you.”

Jemma knew she was babbling, but Bucky’s teasing was driving her out of her mind with need, squeezing her legs tight around his hips and pressing her hands firmly into his shoulders Jemma tried to pull Bucky forward.

Bucky obviously got her not-so-subtle hints and with a muffled groan against her throat he thrust his hips forward easily sinking into her silky drenched core, Jemma’s breath rushed out in a soft whoosh as Bucky sank to the hilt and stilled to allow her body to adjust to his.

“Christ, Jemma. You’re so fucking tight.” Bucky growled against her throat.

Giggling quietly Jemma moved one hand to rake her nails lightly down Bucky’s spine, the move rewarding her with an involuntary jerk of his hips which she met with a tilt of her own, that was apparently all the permission Bucky needed to continue.

Any coherent thought Jemma had remaining soon flew entirely out of her head as Bucky eased into a delicious hard and fast rhythm that had her moaning wantonly, her hips rising as much as possible in his firm hold to meet his thrusts.

Her previous sexual partners had always been gentle and slow which she’d absolutely hated and now knew why she was built solely for Bucky, her hazy brain suddenly clicked that whatever Bucky wanted to do her she wanted and likely vice versa.

Clinging tightly to Bucky as her pounded into her Jemma was startled by the sounds she could hear herself making, from muffled moans to low keens, however when Bucky tightened his fingers slightly into her hips and tilted her pelvis to alter the angle of his thrusts she screamed in delight as his arousal brushed over the tiny bundle of nerves within her, her nails digging into the flesh and metal of his shoulders.

“ _James_ ,” Jemma moaned breathlessly, clutching tighter to Bucky, as her climax burst through her body she saw she swore stars bursting, it wasn’t long till Bucky’s pace became frantic and with a guttural groan he bit down into her shoulder as he sank fully into her as he came, Jemma could feel the slight jerks of his hips as his hard cock twitched deep inside her filling the condom with his come.

As Bucky fell limply on top of her Jemma relaxed beneath him, moving one hand beneath his long hair to scratch lightly at the nape of his neck, her other stroked lightly down his back.

Relaxing her legs from around Bucky’s waist to curl over his long muscular ones Jemma stroked her feet along his calves, humming contentedly as Bucky nuzzled into the side of her throat again.

“Now, I think that quite sufficiently proves that you’re not going to hurt me James, or break me. So can we agree this whole gentlemanly act in regards to alone time can bugger off out of the equation?” Jemma purred softly as she raked her fingers up through Bucky’s hair.

“I dunno doll, you might not be able to keep up with me. Enhanced stamina and all that,” Bucky rumbled against her throat.

Now that her brain was slowly working again Jemma contemplated that comment, humming in thought as she stretched languidly beneath Bucky. She whimpered in protest as he eased off her to roll over her and sidle off into the bathroom to dispose of the condom.

Propping herself up on her elbows Jemma watched Bucky as he moved back into the room, he moved with almost a deadly grace, she felt her mouth curving into a teasing grin and cocked her head slightly to one side as she spoke softly.

“If you give me a minute or two to rest I’m sure I could go another round or three, you know, for scientific research purposes.”

Bucky’s blue eyes widened. And then he started to laugh, she thought the first truly relaxed, happy laugh she’d heard from him. Settling back onto the bed beside her, he propped himself on one elbow and looked down at her, speaking between his chuckles.

“Take as much time as you need, doll. This science experiment’s happy to wait for you.”

 


	12. Shovel Talks

_ _

_Cause seriously look at this face and that expression. I couldn't not open with this._

 

 

Skye was still sitting in the kitchen with Pepper an hour later awed by her sneakiness, it was no wonder the other woman was able to keep Tony in line. They’d been chatting over coffee and were on their third or was it fourth cup when Natasha had made her way into the kitchen.

“Clint got a call on our flight home, from May.” Natasha said casually as she reached up into the cupboard for a mug.

“What? Why?” Skye asked warily as she watched Natasha make her mug of tea.

“From what I could glean from his side of the conversation, I think she gave him the shovel talk. Which reminds me, Clint is like the annoying brother I never knew I wanted, Skye.” Natasha paused, brought her mug to her lips and took a long sip of her tea and honey before continuing.

“So if you hurt him, I will come looking for you regardless of your connection to Coulson and let me assure you, neither Coulson nor May will ever find your body.”

“Duly noted, Ms. Romanoff.”

Picking up her mug of coffee Skye slipped off the stool and with a slight incline of her head to Pepper and Natasha she made her way back across to the elevator, stepping into the car she was grateful when it started moving without her saying a word, her mind was whirling over what May could have possibly said to Clint.

When Skye stepped out onto Clint’s floor she was met by the sight of him pacing agitatedly by the couch with his back to her arguing with JARVIS.

“Come on JARVIS, it’s not like I’m asking you to show me what she’s doing, I just want to know where Skye is?” Clint groused.

“Sneaking up behind you apparently Hawkeye, you know for supposedly seeing better at a distance you seem kind of distracted.” Skye teased quietly, watching Clint’s shoulders jerk slightly before he turned.

Cocking her head slightly to one side Skye watched Clint’s mouth open as though he were about to say something before he was distracted, his blue-grey eyes darkening slightly as they slowly drifted downwards over her.

“Coffee?” she offered and held out the mug.

The indecision in his eyes was clear, as though Clint wasn’t sure whether he wanted to take the couple of steps to claim the offered mug of fresh coffee or stay where he was and continue to stare silently at her.

Taking the decision out of his hands Skye closed the distance between them and slipped the mug into his hand, only releasing her hold on it once she was certain Clint wasn’t going to drop it.

“That’s my shirt, _why_ are you wearing my shirt?”

Settling onto the couch with her lower back resting against the armrest Skye pulled her knees up to cross her arms over the top as she turned to watch Clint circle around the other end of the couch, sipping absently at the coffee.

“It is, I needed something to wear and it seemed a better alternative than walking onto the common floor naked. I _may_ have also borrowed a pair of your jockey shorts.”

The sound of spluttering followed by what she assumed was Russian cursing had Skye looking to Clint as he set the mug on the coffee table before settling himself onto the couch by her feet.

“You know, I think Jemma and I really need to go shopping at some point, it’s not fair on Natasha that we keep using her clothes.”

 

Clint was aware of Skye talking to him, but honestly he wasn’t focused entirely on what she’d just said, his mind was still firmly rooted on the fact that she was wearing _his_ shirt and possibly a pair of _his_ shorts and he found the idea of that seriously hot.

Her foot nudging against his thigh had Clint reaching out to close his hand around her ankle, turning his head slightly to look at her he saw Skye’s brow was furrowed as she studied him.

“What did May say to you?” Skye spoke so quietly that Clint almost missed that she’d spoken at all.

“Oh you know, the usual, you break her heart, I’ll break your balls except more….” Clint wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence.

“Mayish?” Skye supplied with a twitch of her lips in amusement.

“Exactly,” Clint answered with a slight smirk.

“Hmm, I dunno if that’s scarier than Natasha’s or about equal.”

“Wait, back up, Tasha gave _you_ the shovel talk? When?” Clint was sure both his brows rose at that revelation.

“Couple of minutes ago, she basically said if I hurt you no one will find the body. You know for a diminutive _ex_ -Russian assassin, she’s still seriously fucking scary when she wants to be.”

“You think that’s bad, wait till she starts channelling her inner Coulson, which reminds me I think I need to be more concerned about _his_ shovel talk than May’s, he was far too calm while telling me if I hurt you in any way, shape or form that there’d be nowhere on earth I could hide from him.”

The sound of muffled snickering had Clint turning to face Skye fully, she had both hands covering her mouth in an attempt to stop her snickers, the slight shaking of her shoulders told him she wasn’t far off from bursting into full blown laughter.

Keeping his grip on her ankle Clint took hold of her other ankle and dragged her towards him till she was lying flat on the couch, swinging his legs onto the couch Clint stretched out over Skye his head coming to rest at her collar bone. His mouth brushed over the hickey – he’d been in the process of placing it on her delicate skin earlier when the Assemble alarm went off – at the base of her throat as he said huskily “Something funny about that?”

As usual when he touched her Skye’s train of thought completely derailed. She quieted, staring at him from luminous dark eyes, even as her arms slid around his neck, holding him closer. “Nothing funny about the thought of you ever getting hurt,” she murmured quietly. “Which reminds me – did the mission go all right?”

“Fine,” he said it too quickly, which made Skye tilt her head curiously and narrow her eyes at him. “I _am_ fine, really,” Clint admitted, “but Hulk kind of had to catch me again. It wasn’t me making a dumbass decision this time though, I swear! The bastards blew up the building I was standing on top of…”

Skye groaned and pressed her face against his shoulder. “Remind me to buy Bruce something nice.”

“He likes exotic tea…”

“Exotic tea, right,” Skye mumbled into his shoulder.

If he was truthful, Clint rather preferred her earlier snickering over the sudden silence that fell in the room, slipping his hands beneath the hem of his shirt Skye wore his hands slid automatically to her sides where his fingers started tickling.

When he heard the strangled sound Skye made against his shoulder as she tried to squirm away from his fingers, Clint smirked against Skye’s throat, his hands continuing to tickle her mercilessly.

It didn’t take long for his tickling to get to Skye and when her soft laughter finally broke free and she squirmed harder to get out from beneath him, Clint found himself so distracted by the melodious sound and her movements that he really didn’t expect Skye to grasp his biceps and tighten her legs against his and roll them off the couch.

With a sudden thud his breath whooshed out of him, blinking Clint looked up at Skye as she pushed herself up slightly to brace her hands either side of his head, her long dark hair toppled over her shoulder as she leant down with a concerned frown curving her mouth.

“Shit, sorry Clint. I didn’t mean to whack your head into the floor,” Skye breathed out against his cheek.

“No problem, though if you wanted to be on top all you had to do was ask,” Clint quipped curling one hand around the nape of Skye’s neck as he turned his head to capture her mouth, his other hand settling in a firm grip on her hip as he bucked his hips up to grind against her.

As Skye pulled back from the kiss with a gasp her dark eyes wide as her hips instinctively rolled down against his, Clint groaned at the sensation which was magnified as he watched her lick at her lower lip before murmuring;

“Oh, I thought you’d be tired. But it seems I was wrong?”

“Seems you were, beautiful girl, besides we can always nap after?” Clint chuckled quietly as he sat up, forcing Skye into a seated position as well.

Clint really could get lost in those luminous dark eyes of hers, the light brush of her hands stroking along his arms had lightning streaking through his nervous system, when Skye began to chew at her lower lip he knew there was something she was thinking about intently.

“Something on your mind Skye?”

“I’ve wanted to ask this since day one actually. Why in the hell do almost none of your shirts have any sleeves to speak of? Are you allergic to them or something?” Skye rambled hurriedly.

There was no way he could stop the low rumble of laughter that rolled through his chest and burst free at Skye’s question, though he reigned it in quickly as Skye’s expression wavered uncertainly, leaning in to brush a light kiss over her lips he pulled back barely as he spoke.

“Nothing like that beautiful, I mean when it gets cold I wear long sleeved shirts and sweaters, then there are my jackets all year round, if you asked Stark he’d claim it was so I could lure women in with the arm candy, but honestly I just don’t like anything tight constricting around my arms. Makes it difficult for me to shoot my bow. Why do you ask?”

“Cause your arms, your seriously muscular, magnificent arms are seriously fucking distracting in these shirts. I often find myself wanting to bite them.” Skye admitted sheepishly as she raked her nails lightly down his upper arms.

That particular admission drew a guttural groan from Clint’s throat as he dropped his head to the curve of Skye’s neck and shoulder, sliding his hand round from Skye’s hip he lightly swatted her ass causing Skye to yelp in surprise as he muttered;

“Go grab a condom from the bedroom you little minx, before my senses fly out the window _again_.”

After Skye pushed herself up off his lap Clint took a moment to watch her pad off on bare feet into the bedroom, getting back onto his own feet Clint grabbed the mug from the coffee table and went to deposit it into his kitchen sink.

Clint was settled back on the couch with his eyes closed in thought when he finally heard the soft pad of Skye’s bare feet on the polished wood floor re-enter the room, he had no idea what she’d been doing in the bedroom that she’d been gone so long.

Opening his eyes Clint slid forward to the edge of the couch reaching out to grasp Skye’s hips as she went to move past him, as she turned to face him Clint watched as she lobbed the pillow she had in one hand over the top of his head to land on the couch.

Resting his head against Skye’s stomach Clint inhaled deeply as his hands slid beneath the hem of his shirt, lifting his head long enough to push the shirt up he soon dropped his head back to nuzzle into Skye’s bare stomach, the barest brush of Skye’s hands over his and the sudden loss of the extra weight of the shirt material told him she’d just pulled it off over her head.

Brushing kisses along Skye’s stomach when he reached her navel Clint dragged the flat of his tongue down over her navel before dipping within, he was aware of her hands gliding down over his back. The sudden drag of the material of his tank top moving up forced him to reluctantly lift his head and arms so Skye could pull the material off.

Leaning in Clint’s hands settled at the top of Skye’s shorts as he closed his mouth over one of the scars on her stomach, sucking gently on the puckered skin he was rewarded by Skye’s soft gasp and her fingers sliding into his hair. Hooking his thumbs beneath the waistband of the shorts clinging to her hips, Clint slowly started to drag them down as he shifted his head to look up along her body.

Once the shorts pooled at Skye’s feet and she kicked free of them Clint forced himself to his feet, the warmth of her breath ghosting over his bare chest was followed by her tongue moving in a circular pattern around his nipple. Lifting one hand he tangled his fingers in her hair.

When Skye tugged at his nipple with sharp little teeth, Clint groaned, his fingers in her hair holding her head to his chest as he forced his eyes shut, focusing on his breathing so he could remain in control.

Though he almost lost that battle entirely the moment Skye’s hands eased beneath the waistband of his sweatpants to push them down, stepping out of them as they pooled at his feet Clint’s eyes shot open as he felt Skye’s nimble fingers on his throbbing arousal.

With a low growl Clint dropped his head to capture Skye’s mouth in a heated kiss as she finished rolling the condom into place, as Skye’s arms curled about his neck Clint shifted both his hands to grip her ass and hoist her off the floor.

Lean legs wrapping around his waist was Clint’s only warning that Skye was shifting, she slid one hand up to rake her nails through his short hair as her other arm adjusted around his shoulders to hold on, wrapping one arm round Skye’s waist Clint turned towards the couch. Bracing one knee and hand into the soft leather he lowered them down till Skye’s head hit the pillow.

Sliding his arm from around Skye’s waist as her back settled against the leather, Clint shifted his legs keeping one knee braced on the couch and the other bent with his foot braced against the floor, after lining up his throbbing arousal with her slick entrance and sliding part way in Clint braced his hands above Skye’s shoulders.

Pulling back slightly from the kiss to give them both a chance to breathe, Clint locked his eyes on Skye’s as he slowly thrust forward, sinking inch by aching inch into her welcoming heat, her soft gasp of pleasure like music to his ears as she arched up into him.

“Christ sweetheart, you always feel so damn good that I swear you’re trying to kill me,” Clint groaned huskily against her soft lips.

Skye murmured incoherently, her heels digging into his ass making Clint increase his momentum as he reclaimed her mouth in a tender kiss, it took him a couple of minutes to establish a rhythm using Skye’s non-verbal signs – which ranged from her pulling his hair, to her nails biting into his bicep or her thighs tightening around his waist – dragging his mouth from Skye’s he kissed along her jaw and down her neck so he could settle his mouth over the unfinished hickey at the base of her throat.

Once he was sufficiently happy that the hickey was of a decent size and shade Clint lifted his mouth from Skye’s throat, looking into Skye’s dark eyes he thrust forward and stopped, garnering a cry of protest from Skye. Brushing a kiss over her mouth he murmured;

“Unwrap your legs for me sweetheart, we’re gonna change things up.”

The confusion in her dark eyes was evident for a minute or two as Skye processed what he’d said, Clint knew the moment she worked out what he meant as she gave a slight roll of her hips into him before uncurling her legs from around his waist.

Clint knew how limber Skye was having witnessed her tai chi sessions in the gym as well as her single sparring bout with Natasha, moving his right arm down he hooked it beneath her left knee and carefully pushed her leg upwards, he briefly recommenced his motions a few slow gentle thrusts designed solely to keep Skye’s pleasure building.

Stilling again when he was fully sheathed Clint pushed up onto his knees, his left hand gliding down over his words on her inner right thigh drawing a hushed groan from both their chests, curling his hand about her knee he pushed her leg up till it was bent with her foot in the soft leather before carefully guiding it across his thighs to brace on the opposite side.

“Roll onto your side for me Skye.”

When he felt her twist her upper body to move onto her side Clint slid backwards – not all the way out of her just enough to give him room to move – he ducked his head as he used Skye’s extended leg as a lever bringing it over his head to roll her onto her stomach.

A low growl of pleasure rumbled through his chest as Skye pushed herself up onto her hands and knees of her own volition, he watched silently as she flicked her hair back out of her way as she looked back over her shoulder at him, moving his hands to her hips Clint held tight as he thrust hard and deep back into Skye till he was buried to the hilt.

He stilled to allow her a moment to adjust to the new position, it allowed him deeper into her core than they’d previously been, leaning down over her back Clint brushed a kiss at the top of her spine before feathering kisses along her shoulder blade, moving his left arm to curl around her stomach he brought his right forward to entangle his fingers with Skye’s as he rumbled;

“This good, sweetheart?”

“Better than good. But Clint, I swear if you don’t move soon, this is the last time you’re going to be making love to me for a while,” Skye humphed in frustration, even as she pushed her ass back into Clint’s groin.

Clint couldn’t stop the full bodied laugh that rolled through him at Skye’s frustrated declaration, adjusting his arm around her stomach so he could lightly squeeze her clit between his calloused fingers as he brushed a kiss over the top of her shoulder Clint growled;

“Well never let it be said I don’t follow orders, but for the record sweetheart, I highly doubt that’s a threat you could carry out for long.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake Clint, hurry up and mo…… _oh_.”

Cutting off Skye’s complaint with a well timed pinch to her clit Clint started a new slow rhythm, wanting to allow Skye’s body time to adjust to his deeper penetration, she apparently had other ideas though as she rocked back to meet his incoming thrusts.

“So impatient sweetheart, there’s no need to rush things. One of the benefits of me being twelve years your senior beautiful, is I have better stamina and control than a lot of the young bucks.”

They fell into a casual easy rhythm Clint pushing Skye closer to orgasm through varied pinches and strokes of her clit as well as his hard cock brushing against her G-spot with each thrust, each time she got close to bursting though he’d simply stop his thrusts, his teasing fingers stilling, drawing a soft groan of frustration from Skye’s throat as she squirmed beneath trying to coax him to move or do something.

“Clint, please?” Skye eventually whimpered, her voice sounding needy and pained as though the sheer lack of release was hurting her.

“Please what, sweetheart? Tell me what you want, Skye.” Clint rasped lazily by her ear before nuzzling into her soft, thick hair.

“Want you…no _need_ you. Make me come Clint, please?” Skye begged as her head turned, forcing his face from her hair to meet her dark pleading eyes.

“Now how on earth can I refuse a request like that sweetheart?” Clint murmured, not really expecting an answer.

Squeezing her fingers with his Clint leant in to brush a light kiss over Skye’s parted lips as he picked up his previous rhythm with ease, stroking and pinching at her clit in unison with his thrusts.

It didn’t take long for Clint to hear the change in Skye’s breathing between her low moans and quiet keens signalling she was close to her breaking point, the tingling sensation currently rolling down along his spine told him he wasn’t that far behind her.

“That’s right sweetheart, come for me. Wanna feel you clamp down on my cock and milk me dry as you come, my beautiful girl.” Clint growled filthily against her ear.

The unexpected motion of Skye pushing back hard into him as her inner muscles clamped down hard on his aching cock made Clint’s head spin, the unabashed moan slipping free from Skye sending him right over the edge. It only took a couple of hard fast thrusts into Skye’s clenching core for his own climax to burst.

Clint swore there was a lightning bolt ripping through his nervous system as he came, drawing a guttural groan from Clint’s throat, tightening his arm around Skye’s stomach as wave after wave of come burst free from his cock, they both collapsed onto the pillow still riding out their combined climax.

Keeping his hold on Skye as they both still quivered with aftershocks Clint rolled them onto their sides so his weight wasn’t crushing her slight form, curling both arms around her stomach Clint brushed a kiss across the back of Skye’s head just as she mumbled;

“It’s about fucking time, if I’d done that you’d have been calling me a cock tease.”

 


	13. Girl Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Author's Note:** Apologies for the delay in updating I've been suffering from a serious case of writers block and only had 4 chapters in order ready to post and 4 towards the end of the story. Between stress at work and real life issues I've struggled to break the block and occasionally tinkering with other story ideas. Hopefully I can get my shit together with this again soon.

Stretching languidly Skye frowned; even without opening her eyes she knew her surroundings weren’t right, she was a hundred percent certain she’d gone to sleep on the soft leather couch in Clint’s strong muscular arms.

Cracking one eye open she soon realised she was in Clint’s room, clutching the sheet to her chest Skye sat up. A cursory glance of the room had her realising she’d woken alone – her heart definitely hadn’t just dropped like a wet log at that thought, it really hadn’t – from the corner of her eye she spotted a piece of paper folded on the nightstand.

Reaching for the paper Skye unfolded it feeling her brow furrow further, the handwriting was Clint’s; she knew that easily, she had after all seen it virtually every day of her life as she dressed, her eyes scanned over the note reading it hastily.

_Skye, I have some things I need to get done today. Since you said you wanted to get some more clothes of your own, I’ve spoken with Pepper and Tasha and they’ve agreed to take you and Jemma shopping for clothing and whatever else you need. JARVIS will let them know when you’ve woken. Have fun sweetheart and I’ll see you later this afternoon. Clint._

Blinking as she reread the note Skye shook her head in disbelief; honestly she hadn’t thought Clint was fully paying attention earlier when she’d said that, it wasn’t often that people surprised her anymore but Clint had done just that.

Spotting her clothing folded at the end of the bed Skye crawled along the bed to sit on the end to dress.

Spotting her boots by the door Skye grabbed them on her way out towards the elevator. Leaning against the wall of the elevator’s car Skye was in the process of pulling her boots on when the elevator stopped, glancing up she felt her eyes go wide at the sight of Jemma heatedly kissing Bucky – who it appeared was wearing only a towel – clearing her throat loudly she muttered;

“Haven’t you heard of Pants, Barnes?”

“I’m on my floor, so I can wear as much or as little as I like Skye. Enjoy your shopping trip ladies.” Bucky replied evenly.

As the doors closed Skye glanced to Jemma with one brow arched upwards as she quipped;

“So Barnes finally gave in, I take it?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ward had put feelers out two days ago seeking information on Barton, within twenty-four hours he had not only contact details for Trickshot but also had a location for Hawkeye.

Asking Agent Thirty-Three to _try_ to keep Cal out of trouble Ward had packed the bare essentials and hopped a bus to New York City, originally intending merely to gather intelligence, however the longer he discreetly took photos of the Avengers Tower and those coming and going he started to wonder if there was a slim chance of being able to grab Skye. He’d probably need a distraction of some sort, though. He wouldn’t want the Avengers breathing down his neck thirty seconds later.

So – not today. He regretfully dismissed the idea, temporarily at least until he could lay further plans in place, and continued his discreet surveillance.

His breath caught in his throat as he saw a familiar dark head among a group of women coming out of the Tower’s main doors. _There she is. My girl_.

She was with Simmons, the little bitch who’d laughably threatened to kill him if she ever saw him again, a tall slender strawberry-blonde woman he instantly recognised as Pepper Potts, and a stunning, all-too-familiar redhead.

Ward’s lips curled back from his teeth in a snarl. _Romanoff_. The Russian whore who’d once dared to turn him down with nothing more than a disdainful flick of her green eyes. He’d make sure that she, for one, died _very_ slowly. Maybe he’d give her to Trickshot. Barney Barton would relish the chance to kill his brother’s partner and best friend.

Tugging the peak of his baseball cap lower and pulling the hood of his hoodie up Ward easily fell into step following the group from a distance, he knew all too well about Romanoff’s training and didn’t want to get to close to the group and give himself away.

Frankly he was surprised when the four women walked all the way to Fifth Avenue from the Tower, Ward had thought that Stark of all people would have Potts chauffeur driven everywhere.

Though that gave him possibilities, especially when he followed them – at a reasonable distance, mind you – into one of the large department stores and he watched as they separated to browse, he pondered albeit briefly his chances of being able to grab Simmons.

Ward knew if he could get his hands on the petite scientist that he could use her to lure Skye out of the tower, the friendship with the prim and proper little English rose was one of Skye’s few weaknesses that was easily exploitable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye honestly couldn’t recall the last time she’d been able to let her hair down and just go shopping like a normal person – though if May knew she wasn’t paying complete attention to her surroundings her ass would be grass – looking up from the wide range of items Pepper was currently getting rung up Skye turned her attention to looking for the missing two members of their group.

She spotted Jemma – not so surprisingly – flicking through a rack of sweaters, not that she blamed her, Jemma definitely rocked the dress shirt, tie and sweater look. Sweeping her gaze over the area Skye spotted the flash of Natasha’s red hair. With a slight frown she took in the other woman’s body language, her shoulders were slightly stiff, her back straight and her phone to her ear.

From where she stood Skye just _knew_ something had put Natasha on alert, the redhead’s pose similar to one she’d seen Bobbi in on a few occasions, making her way across to Natasha she noticed the redhead tucking her phone back into her jacket pocket and asked casually “Natasha, is everything alright?”

“Hmm? I can’t shake the feeling that someone is following us, so I called for backup, just in case.”

Turning her attention to the people loitering about the store Skye found herself easily slipping back into Agent mode, May’s lessons on observation coming instantly back to the fore-front of her mind. Casting casual glances over each person she occasionally backtracked for a closer inspection, there was one figure that was just heading towards the exit that caught her attention.

The figure was at least six foot and some change, definitely male, wearing boots, dark wash jeans and a dark hoodie, for the briefest moment there was something about the way the figure moved that seemed familiar, it was as she was trying to place it that Jemma’s voice broke into her focus.

“Skye? What do you think, the blue or the cream one?” Jemma’s crisp tone repeated.

Blinking Skye turned her attention to her best friend and the two sweaters she was holding up, taking in the colors and Jemma’s complexion she said simply “Both suit you Jemma, but I like the blue.”

“Get both,” Pepper said warmly, walking up beside Jemma. “The Tower’s always cool inside even in summer. You’ll need a few sweaters. This shopping trip is on Stark Industries, girls. Splash out a little.”

Jemma giggled a little excitedly, but for Skye the fun had gone out of the trip, she felt jittery and nervous and suddenly wanted very much to be close to Clint again. She found herself sticking close to Jemma, worrying over the oblivious scientist. She suspected Natasha had given some sort of signal to Pepper to stay close too, because the glamorous woman stuck to them like glue while Natasha circled the perimeter.

Skye couldn’t help but wonder what backup Natasha had called in, because thirty minutes later when they left the store nobody had arrived. There was a limo waiting at the kerb for them though, driven by Tony’s chauffeur Happy, and just as Skye was about to step inside a shadow passed over her. Glancing up, she saw a brief glint of sunlight off something metallic. The Falcon’s wings.

They didn’t return straight to the Tower, Skye had asked if they could make a detour to buy tea – which Jemma had enthusiastically seconded – as Pepper raised one delicate brow in unison with Natasha she shrugged simple and had muttered “I owe Bruce, for not only saving my ass but Clint’s _twice_.”

When they emerged from the limo and went to retrieve the bags from the trunk Skye blinked at the number of bags Pepper passed off to her, she was sure she hadn’t picked out enough clothing to fill _that_ many bags but before she could even pose a question Pepper was already speaking.

“I took the liberty of picking out a few more things in your size Skye, you really didn’t pick much out at all. I expanded on what you had already chosen to give you more co-ordination options. I can deliver that to Bruce for you if you’d like? I have to go down to the labs anyway to speak with Tony.”

After giving the bag containing the tea for Bruce to Pepper they all parted ways in the elevator getting off on different floors, moving through Clint’s floor Skye dropped her bags onto the coffee table and settled on the couch. Idly skimming her hand across the soft leather, Skye felt her cheeks heat as she recalled what they’d done on that very spot several hours earlier.

“Miss Skye, Mr Barton requests your presence within the common floor kitchen in approximately one hour.”

The crisp bodiless voice of JARVIS startled Skye from her erotic reverie, blinking several times as she turned her head towards the ceiling she asked “Did he say why, J?”

The response she got was both telling and cryptic as the proper English voice stated simply “Date Night.”


	14. Date Night Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay in updating all I can say is that writers block sucks but hopefully it'll clear up soon.

_ _

_Don't get distracted by the specimen above and forget to read._

 

 _Date Night._ Those words had been echoing within Skye’s head non stop for the past forty-five minutes, she’d spent the better part of half an hour contemplating her new wardrobe trying to figure out what to wear; once she’d decided upon an outfit she made her way into Clint’s bathroom to shower.

She currently stood with one of Clint’s large – seriously fluffy and soft – towels wrapped around her as she stared into the mirror at her own reflection and mulled over what to try and do with her hair.

In the end she ended up deciding to simply run the brush through her thick hair and leave it to hang loosely about her shoulders, reaching for her lip gloss on the counter she applied a coat to her lips, smacking them together before turning from the mirror to head out into the bedroom.

Reaching for the dark purple lace thong Skye stepped into it and shimmied the material on up her legs, shedding the towel the matching bra was pulled on and fastened at her back. Since Skye had no idea what Clint had in store for their date, she’d opted to go with something simple and casual, she’d found a dress in the store exactly the same as one she had back at the Playground – one she loved from her life before she became an agent – it was white with varying shades of blue stripes.

Easing the dress on over her head – making sure not to mess up her hair or smear her lip gloss – Skye let it float down over her body, smoothing the material out as the hem settled about an inch above her knee. Sitting down on the end of the bed she pulled her much loved combat boots back onto her feet and laced them up, grabbing her new leather jacket as she pushed off the bed she shrugged into it as she headed towards the elevator.

When Skye stepped out of the elevator onto the common floor a sudden delicious aroma reached her nose causing her to inhale deeply, making her way into the kitchen she spotted Clint with his back to her busying himself at the counter beside the stove top.

“Oh my god….are you cooking? Are you like, _domesticated_?” Skye quipped as she crossed to Clint, turning she hoisted herself up onto the counter just to Clint’s left – ensuring her dress stayed in a suitable place –reaching out, she quickly snatched a piece of the carrot he was in the process of cutting and popped it in her mouth.

“That depends on who you ask,” Clint said with a grin. “Natasha would probably tell you that she’s just about got me trained to shit in the litterbox.”

Skye choked on the carrot. She tried to cough to force the piece of carrot out but was unsuccessful until one large hand settled at her sternum as the other settled between her shoulders to lean her forward slightly before it struck firmly against her back.

When she _finally_ managed to cough the piece of carrot up – with some assistance from Clint – Skye blinked and reached to wipe the tears from her eyes, watching as Clint turned back to cutting the carrot and celery she shook her head slightly and contemplated the best way to respond to his retort. Eventually releasing a quiet laugh Skye said plainly “Why do I have the impression that Natasha thinks none of you could wipe your noses without her to hold the hanky?”

Subtly rolling his shoulders Clint then raised them in a half shrug as he finished cutting up the carrot and celery, setting the sticks onto the plate with a container of dip as he spoke “Natasha likes things to be very….controlled, precise even.”

Stirring the white wine sauce Clint turned then to properly look at Skye, she had her head cocked slightly watching him even as he ran his gaze down over her taking in the leather jacket she wore over the striped dress all the way down to her combat boots.

“Did you have fun shopping with the girls?”

Clint saw the flash of hesitation in Skye’s eyes moments before she mumbled “Yeah, it was fun.”

He felt his brow furrow as he moved in front of Skye where she sat on the edge of the counter, bracing his hands on her knees Clint leant forward to study her expression and shook his head slightly “That’s not entirely the truth is it, Skye? What are you not telling me, beautiful?”

“Natasha got the feeling we were being followed, when she told me that it stopped being fun and May’s training kicked back in. There was a figure I saw, the way it moved was familiar but I can’t place how at the moment.”

Sighing, Clint used his hold on her knees to ease her legs apart in order to step between them till the front of his legs rested against the cabinets, curling one hand around the nape of her neck as his other settled at her hip Clint let his forehead rest against Skye’s as he murmured “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Skye mumbled softly.

Stroking his fingers along the side of Skye’s neck Clint couldn’t help himself, he kissed her, he had intended it to only be a brief brush of his lips against hers in apology for her ruined outing. Skye apparently had other ideas on the matter however as she soon wrapped those lean legs around him locking her ankles – he was pretty sure – behind his ass, her delicate hands moving to splay over his shoulder blades.

Clint had heard rumours of course, of how soulmates in the early stages of a bond forming and growing were easily distracted by each other, by the simplest of touches, by a simple kiss, he’d never believed it mind you, not until he found _his_ soulmate, _his_ Skye. The irony of her name wasn’t lost on him, given his preferences for heights and a bird’s eye view of his surroundings.

He was so thoroughly distracted by Skye’s wicked mouth on his and the way she had inched forward on the edge of the counter to plaster herself against him that Clint completely forgot about not only where they were but also the food he’d been cooking.

Vaguely Clint was aware of a sharp intake of breath and a hastily mumbled apology, by which he assumed from the slightly flustered tone that Steve had walked into the kitchen, seen them and turned to make a hasty retreat.

The sudden blare of the smoke detector had Clint jerking back from the kiss, blinking rapidly as he reached back to uncurl Skye’s legs, extricating himself from her hold. Sidestepping to the stove top Clint grabbed the dish towel and grabbed the pot with the now burnt pasta sauce, turning he set the pot into the sink and turned the tap on before turning back to open the oven door.

Not the best move, Clint soon learnt as black smoke billowed out of the oven, stepping back he began waving the towel to try and clear the smoke as Skye’s laughter reached his ears, turning a mock glare in her direction he was just about to say something when a faint whirring noise caught his attention.

Clint turned back just in time to see Dum-E roll into the kitchen, he just barely managed to jump backwards towards Skye as the robot levelled a fire extinguisher at the oven and set it off.

“What the actual fuck Barton? Are you trying to burn the place down?” Tony’s agitated voice entered the kitchen a split second before the furious billionaire.

Skye’s laughter intensified then as her arms wrapped around his chest, Clint blinked when her chin rested on his shoulder and he could feel her laughter rolling through her chest against his back as he muttered “Not funny, Skye.”

Turning his attention back to Tony, Clint levelled an unimpressed stare at him before grumbling “Can it Stark, how many times have you set the building, or part of it at least on fire?”

“He has a point, Tony, the first time you cooked for me on the company jet you somehow managed to burn the omelette.” Pepper chimed in as she stepped into the kitchen and examined the scene before her.

“No, Pepper. I’m putting my foot down, see this is my foot coming down,” Tony waved exaggeratedly about the kitchen before continuing “Barton is banned from cooking in the shared kitchen and our personal kitchen from here on out. Stick to what you do best, Legolas, and blow shit up, out in the field.”

Skye’s laughter died down as she felt Clint’s body tense beneath her at Tony’s decree, when Clint pulled away from her and stalked from the room throwing the towel at Tony’s head – without actually looking at the billionaire, mind you – Skye was forced to bite her lip as it landed on target. Easing off the counter Skye spared Pepper an apologetic glance as she started off after Clint, murmuring a quick “Sorry, Pepper.”

She caught up with him at the elevator or rather Skye found him _in_ the elevator with his fists braced against the rear wall of the car, his shoulders hunched and head hanging down between his arms muttering in….wait was that _Russian_?

“J can you take us down to the garage, once I’m in the elevator please?” Skye asked the AI quietly as she made her way across to the elevator.

“Of course, Miss.”

Stepping into the elevator Skye moved over to Clint, reaching out tentatively so as not to startle him she settled her hand lightly against his lower back before ducking under his arm. Curling her free hand beneath Clint’s chin Skye tilted his head up so she could see his face, she smiled warmly before murmuring “Hey, don’t worry about it. Accidents happen, despite what Mr I’m-a-billionaire-genius-playboy with the over inflated ego thinks, that wasn’t your fault Clint. If anything it’s mine for being kind of slutty and encouraging you deeper into that kiss.”

“You are _not_ a slut, Skye, that was _not_ slutty. In fact I’m pretty sure _that_ was our bond at work, I’ve heard rumours of people’s bonds being so strong that they are unable to _not_ touch each other, especially when they first meet. Some bonds settle into something more normal like Pepper and Tony and some people…well their bonds stay explosive, almost irresistible.” Clint’s low rumble combined with his choice of words made Skye shiver.

“That would explain Bobbi and Hunter then, and right now I think us. Because I certainly can’t seem to keep my mind, or my hands, off you right now, Clint.” Skye admitted softly.

As the elevator stopped Skye pressed a kiss to Clint’s cheek and slipped out under his arm, turning she walked backwards out of the elevator her eyes locking with Clint’s as his head turned to follow her.

“After what just happened upstairs I think we need to get out of here for a bit. You feel like going for a drive?” Skye asked nervously, her boot scuffing the garage floor quietly.

It had seemed like a good idea when she’d thought of it upstairs, a way to get Clint out of the tower and away from Tony and his remarks but now Skye wasn’t entirely sure, especially when it appeared that Clint wasn’t moving out of the elevator.

Watching as Clint pushed himself off the wall, as he bent to collect his leather jacket from the corner of the elevator floor Skye suddenly found her cheeks heating as her gaze focused on his spectacular ass and the way the dark wash denim of his jeans moulded to it.

Skye turned her attention to the garage and the sheer number of vehicles housed within it, her first thought had been to wonder if Stark was trying to compensate for something.

“Sounds like a plan, did you have somewhere in mind beautiful?” Clint rumbled by her ear startling her from her thoughts.

“Hmmm? Not really beyond getting you out of here before you decided to shoot Stark. You’re the one who lives here; I’ll leave the destination up to you.”

Watching as Clint crossed the garage to a locked safe on the wall Skye arched one brow as it popped open to reveal the selection of keys, she saw Clint glance over his shoulder and got the impression he was assessing each car trying to decide which one to take.

When Clint crossed to one of the SUV’s Skye made her way over to him but she could tell by the expression he wore that something was still bothering him, stopping in front of Clint, Skye slid her arms around his waist beneath his jacket and entwined her fingers, resting her head against his chest Skye hugged Clint firmly while whispering “Everything alright?”

“Yeah its fine, I just….really wanted to cook for you, make a good impression you know?” Clint mumbled.

Skye blew out a sharp breath and lifted her head to look up at Clint, arching one brow upwards at his concerned expression and the taut set of his mouth she shook her head as she spoke “Oh you adorable, handsome goof. You don’t need to impress me Clint, you pretty much had me the moment you saved my life and that was before you even said my words. Come on lets get out of here before _I_ decide to shake Stark’s world up for being an ass.”

 

Clint had opted to take Skye to his favourite burger joint, he’d been curious as to whether or not she’d meant what she said about him not needing to impress her and had been pleasantly surprised when Skye had ordered the same as him. His usual burger consisted of not one but two beef burgers and was then topped with lettuce, onion, tomato, bacon, three slices of cheddar cheese, an egg and barbeque sauce, Skye had added pineapple onto hers, along with the burgers they got a large side of fries and pickles to share and two beers.

In all the time he’d been going there Clint had honestly never seen a woman even attempt to eat that burger alone, and he was a little ashamed to admit that he’d thought Skye wouldn’t even make it half way through hers. So he’d been even more surprised at the way Skye had greedily tucked into the greasy burger with her hands and had actually eaten all of it without a complaint; even Natasha had never done that when he brought her here.

As Clint pulled the SUV back into the Tower’s parking garage he glanced across to Skye and found her watching him curiously, arching one brow as she placed the straw of the thick shake she held between her lips he forced himself to turn his attention to safer matters.

“So, you’ve charmed me, fed me, is this the part where you whisk me away to ravish me?”

Groaning Clint dropped his head onto the steering wheel, his mind had already been headed in that direction and really hadn’t needed Skye’s not so subtle push to get that thought brewing, his fingers tightened around the steering wheel as he growled “I’m sorely thinking about it, yeah.”

Forcing himself out of the SUV Clint crossed to return the keys aware of Skye’s boots softly thudding along behind him, turning he started towards the elevator, hooking his arm about Skye’s shoulders as he passed her. Guiding Skye into the elevator Clint settled himself to lean against the rear wall and looked to the ceiling as he spoke “Home please JARVIS.”

Clint watched in amusement as Skye stood in front of him with barely an inch between them, her head cocked as her dark eyes studied his shirt with curiosity – for once he’d taken Natasha’s advice and had worn a short sleeved dark blue dress shirt she’d given him for one of his birthdays – he got the distinct impression Skye was plotting something in that head of hers.

“J, stop the elevator please?”

Skye’s voice was so quiet Clint almost wasn’t sure he’d actually heard her speak – at least not until the elevator jerked to a stop – shaking his head Clint looked down at Skye as her hands stroked lightly up his chest on either side of the strip of buttons.

“Skye? What are you doing?”

The only response Clint got was Skye’s mouth settling against his throat with a soft hum as nimble fingers began to slip the buttons of his shirt open, as the material fell apart revealing the bare skin of his chest Skye’s mouth following had Clint closing his eyes with a muttered groan as his head fell back against the wall.

When Skye’s mouth vanished from his chest Clint growled in frustration, her warm breath blowing across his stomach when she laughed combined with the sudden tug at his belt buckle had Clint forcing his eyes open and looking down, the sight of Skye on her knees in front of him was surprising.

A sharp nip at his navel was followed by a soothing stroke of Skye’s tongue, as she finally worked his belt loose it didn’t take her long to pop the button of his jeans, the slow rasp of the zipper suddenly kicked Clint’s brain back into gear as he hissed “JARVIS, shut down the cameras _now_.”

“Acknowledged, Mr Barton.”

“Hmm, what am I doing? Well it suddenly occurred to me that I haven’t had a proper opportunity to study this magnificent body of yours.” Skye murmured quietly before her mouth set about investigating a scar on his lower abdomen briefly before continuing “You give seriously fucking amazing oral for the record and it occurs to me that I never returned the favour.”

Clint couldn’t tear his eyes off Skye’s as her hands slipped beneath the waistband of his jeans at his hips, she kept her eyes locked with his even as she circled his navel with her tongue before dipping in as she inched the denim down torturously slow, too slow for his liking.

“I don’t expect you to return favours, beautiful.” Clint rasped as he moved one hand to stroke over Skye’s hair as she nuzzled against his abs.

“I _want_ to though,” Skye admitted.

As Skye began kissing her way down the thin trail of hair that led from his navel to his groin Clint let his hand slide from her hair, squeezing his eyes shut as his head thumped back lightly against the wall he fought back the suddenly strong urge he had to fist his hands in her soft thick hair and drive his half hard cock past those soft lips into her warm moist mouth.

 

Inching the denim of Clint’s jeans down to the middle of his muscular thighs Skye stopped kissing her way along the fine trail of hair, tilting her head back slightly to watch Clint’s face as she moved both hands to lightly stroke her fingers along his slowly growing cock as she leant in to swipe her tongue across his tip.

The sudden groan Clint exhaled had Skye’s lips curving in a wicked grin; she shifted one hand to rest on Clint’s bare thigh as the other curled lightly around the base of his cock. Leaning down Skye ran her tongue from root to tip along the underside of his growing arousal before swirling her tongue around his glans, curling her lips over her teeth Skye slowly, teasingly guided the head of Clint’s cock into her mouth.

When Skye had half of Clint’s length sheathed in her mouth she sucked gently and then hummed against him eliciting a strangled groan from Clint, she couldn’t stop the chuckle that rolled through her chest and vibrated against Clint’s length that had him muttering profanities under his breath.

Gliding her hand from his thigh upward Skye carefully and gently cupped his balls, first simply stroking her hand along them before switching to gently massaging them between her fingers, it took her a little while to get a rhythm going between working his balls in her hand and gliding her mouth along his length but she got there _eventually_.

A gentle tug on her hair had Skye flicking her eyes up to meet Clint’s smouldering gaze, shifting both her hands to settle on his thighs she slid her mouth off his fully erect cock with a wet pop, though she couldn’t resist giving him one last long lick from root to tip and swirling her tongue over his leaking slit as he growled “Enough, Skye. JARVIS express us to my floor.”

The only acknowledgement Skye assumed JARVIS gave was the slight jerk as the elevator began moving, when Clint’s hands hooked under her arms Skye suddenly found herself hauled back to her feet. Before she could even make a surprised noise at the display of strength Clint’s mouth was crashing down onto hers with a fierce, burning need.

Reluctantly Skye forced herself to step back from Clint and break the kiss as the elevator stopped with a shrill _ding_ sounding in the silence, she knew deep down if they didn’t get out of the elevator soon things were going to progress beyond the point of no return.

Backing out of the elevator Skye cocked her head slightly to one side, curiously watching as Clint pulled his jeans back up and tucked himself back inside before prowling out of the lift after her, she was halfway to the door of Clint’s bedroom when she heard Clint’s voice rumble “Come here.”

Shaking her head with a cheeky grin and quiet laugh Skye turned and as she started running for the bedroom called back “Catch me if you can.”

Clint’s low rumble of laughter from behind her gave Skye a rough idea of how far behind her he was, he was quicker than she’d given him credit for she soon realised as his arm curled around her waist. When Clint launched them across the short distance to his bed Skye yelped in surprise, she momentarily found herself lying on her back on top of him that was until Clint flipped her off him to land on her back on the mattress.

Before she could even blink Skye found herself pinned with Clint straddling her, his knees anchored firmly by her hips as his hands gripped the lapels of her leather jacket. As Clint pulled her into an awkward sitting position Skye let her hands settle on his ribs beneath his open shirt, she’d been sure he’d been going to kiss her when he leant in instead he stopped with scant millimetres between their mouths to whisper “Gotcha.”

As Clint started to peel her jacket back towards her shoulders Skye was forced to let her hands fall away from Clint’s ribs to hang loosely by her side so he could ease her jacket off, she heard the soft thud as it hit the floor when Clint tossed it aside sliding her hands quickly up his chest and beneath his shirt and jacket at his shoulders Skye worked to ease the two articles off together.

When Clint shuffled back from her reach Skye watched as he shrugged the rest of the way out of his shirt and jacket and tossed them to join her discarded jacket on the floor, propping her hands behind her she watched as he moved off the end of the bed to lift first one foot and then the other to unfasten the laces of his boots.

Skye was unable to tear her gaze away from the way Clint’s muscular body moved with casual ease as he kicked his boots off before shoving the denim down his legs to step out of them.

As Clint knelt back on the end of the bed by her feet Skye found her gaze roaming his muscular form, she was so distracted by all that bared skin that she jerked slightly as Clint curled his hands around both her calves and lifted her booted feet to rest on his chest so he could work her laces free.

 


	15. Date Night Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part One of Smut and that's about the only fitting summary I can give.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Figured since it's my birthday I'd be giving and provide everyone with a chapter. Sharing is caring after all. Please enjoy while I go try to continue to kill the troll that is writer's block!
> 
> -Drags Clint and Bucky off to battle-

_ _

_Shameless obligatory chest shot. Remember to look below for the actual chapter!_

 

Pulling Skye’s boots and socks off one at a time Clint dropped them to the floor without a second thought, his hands automatically curling about Skye’s ankles before lightly stroking along the top of her feet towards her toes. Not many people knew that he had a bit of a foot fetish, in fact the only person Clint had ever admitted that to was Natasha, sure she’d laughed her ass off at him over the admission but he knew she would never betray his trust.

Maybe one day he’d get up the guts to tell Skye. But not right now. They were still getting to know each other and Clint honestly didn’t think he could take it if she laughed at him. Sinking to his knees on the floor at the foot of the bed Clint eased her feet from his chest to rest on either side of his body, sliding his hands teasingly slow from her ankles to her knees.

Hooking his arms beneath her knees Clint pulled her down along the bed, his gaze drifting between Skye’s eyes and the way her dress started to hike up, he caught the barest glimpse of the dark material at the apex of Skye’s thighs. Leaning down Clint nipped at Skye’s stomach through the material of her dress as he slid his hands beneath her back, as he straightened he pulled Skye up into a seated position which had her sitting a head taller than him given where he knelt on the floor.

When Skye tugged gently at his short hair Clint tilted his head back to look up, he felt what he was sure had to be a cheeky grin forming as she leant down to close the distance between them to capture his mouth. He was far from unwilling and kissed her back fervently as his hands fisted in the back of her dress, when Skye wriggled forward to press herself against his chest Clint growled into the kiss.

Breaking the kiss Clint leant back as Skye grumbled quietly at the loss, chuckling quietly he used his grip on the cotton material of her dress to slowly draw it up along her back, pulling it over her head Clint let go of it, letting it flutter to the floor. When he caught sight of the dark purple lace covering Skye’s breasts Clint drew in a sudden breath before dropping his head to rest on her cleavage as he rumbled “Oh fuck me, you’re wearing purple.”

“I am, a little spider told me you liked purple,” Skye teased as she stroked one hand through Clint’s short hair.

Lifting his head Clint brought his hands up to cup her lace covered breasts, kneading gently he adjusted his hands so that he could brush his thumbs over her nipples, looking up to meet Skye’s eyes he licked his lips and whispered “I do, but I really like _you_ in purple.”

Dropping his head Clint shifted one hand to her ribs in order to capture one of Skye’s nipples in his mouth through the lace, nipping lightly at the raised peak before switching to sucking Clint was rewarded with a soft gasp and Skye’s fingers tightening in his hair as her back arched slightly pushing her breasts forward into his mouth and hand.

A faint rustle reaching his ears had Clint releasing her nipple and looking up to Skye with one brow arched in silent question, he watched as she tried and failed to keep a straight face before snickering quietly. The last thing he expected then was for Skye to reach into one of the cups of her bra and pull out a condom, leaning forward to rest his forehead against Skye’s sternum Clint shook his head slightly mumbling “Do I want to know?”

“Well May always said to prepare for _all_ possibilities, come to think of it so did Bobbi,” Skye replied quietly.

Chuckling against Skye’s chest he slipped both hands around to unfasten her bra, gliding the straps down over her shoulder Clint kissed his way down along her sternum. As he casually flung her bra aside Clint brought both hands back to Skye’s bared breasts as he settled his mouth against the swell of one breast, biting down against her delicate flesh.

The sharp sting of Clint’s teeth against her breast had Skye releasing a startled yelp, before she could push his head away the languid stroke of his tongue over the bite had her gasping softly. When Clint’s hands settled on her ribs and pressed lightly Skye eased herself back against the mattress, Clint’s low hum vibrating against the underside of her breast had Skye shivering in anticipation.

“Clint, please.”

“Turnabout is fair play, sweetheart.” Clint growled.

With a soft huff Skye turned her gaze to the ceiling as Clint worked his way kissing and nipping down her stomach, when he stopped to lick along the scars of her gunshot wound Skye’s back arched off the bed as a moan slipped free of her.

“I’ve got you, sweetheart.” Clint whispered against the skin of Skye’s stomach as his hand slid up to hers to retrieve the condom.

When Clint finally removed her underwear Skye was so frustrated it wasn’t funny, with a huff she inched her way backwards along the mattress out of his reach and lowered one hand to her dripping sex intent on trying to relieve some of the building pressure coiling deep inside.

Before she knew what had happened Skye found herself flipped onto her stomach her legs straight out behind her, she was about to protest as Clint dragged her hand out from beneath her when his weight settled on her back pressing her into the mattress, his warm breath tickled the back of her ear as he spoke “No, not this time.”

As Clint slid one arm beneath her to lift her hips Skye could feel his thighs pressing against the outside of hers, before she could even get a question formed Skye felt the blunt sheathed head of Clint’s heavy erection slowly pushing into her slick core. Clint’s cock suddenly felt a lot larger as he slowly, tauntingly worked his way in, the position obviously making it a tight fit, he established a rhythm of shallow thrusts that had Skye trying to push her hips up to coax him deeper.

Not that her efforts achieved anything other than Clint delivering a sharp bite to her shoulder moments before he moved his arm from beneath her stomach and pushed his upper body off her back, the change in his position altered the angle of his shallow thrusts just enough that Skye whimpered with need as her hands fisted into the bedding.

Skye struggled to keep her hips slightly elevated and angled, Clint’s shallow thrusting driving coherent thought from her head, as her hips dropped down to the mattress Clint’s grunt of frustration when he lost leverage was soon echoed by Skye’s own soft groan as he pulled out of her.

When she was flipped again to face the ceiling Skye suddenly started to feel a little disorientated, even more so when she felt her legs being lifted off the mattress into the air until the backs of her knees were suddenly resting on what she assumed were Clint’s shoulders.

In the next instant she felt Clint’s large hands sliding beneath her ass and coming to rest at her lower back, shifting her torso slightly Skye reached back above her to drag a pillow down to rest her head on, that extra bit of padding allowed her to finally see Clint kneeling and looking down at her as he lifted her ass off the bed.

Inching his knees forward Clint adjusted his position so that he could easily slide his heavy erection back into her core, Skye was pretty sure her eyes rolled back in her head at the sensations that swam through her body as each slow deliberate thrust he made had his swollen length brushing against the tiny bundle of nerves hidden within her core.

The moment Clint started rocking her hips side to side in time with his thrusts had Skye wantonly whimpering as her left hand blindly reached down to grab at his hamstring, there was too much white hot fire racing along her nerves for Skye to do anything but follow where Clint directed her with his body.

So when his rhythm became erratic and his thrusts became harder Skye’s body melted around him, as his climax hit and he slammed into her with a guttural groan her inner muscles clamped around his pulsing cock like a vice milking him of his release, with an easy roll of his shoulders Skye’s legs fell limply to the mattress as Clint lowered himself to lay atop her as they both rode out the quivering aftershocks of their respective orgasms.

Curling her arms around Clint’s lower back Skye looked up dazedly into those gorgeous blue-grey eyes of his and hummed contentedly as Clint rubbed his nose against hers before brushing a light kiss over her lips.

She must have briefly dozed off at some point because one minute Skye remembered Clint littering soft kisses across her mouth and throat while still buried deep inside her, the next she was lying alone on top of his bed staring at the ceiling with the sound of running water echoing out of the bathroom. Had he left her to go shower?

The brush of calloused fingers across her lower stomach had Skye turning in the direction the fingers had gone, almost chasing the contact she wound up staring into Clint’s eyes as a slow smile graced his ruggedly handsome face.

“Hey,” Skye mumbled stupidly as she pushed herself into a seated position.

“Hey, sleepy head, I was going to see if you wanted to join me for a soak in the tub?”

Sliding across the bed Skye forced herself to her feet, deciding to give a physical rather than verbal answer she ruffled one hand fondly through Clint’s hair as she started towards the bathroom, her first stop was definitely the toilet however which was precisely where she was sitting when Clint strolled in and made his way to the tub to shut off the water.

Stepping into the tub Clint eased himself down into the bubble filled water, yes bubble baths were girly, he knew that, but he occasionally liked to enjoy the girly things like bubble baths and champagne. Lying back against the tub Clint let his eyes drift closed, in the past he used moments like this to simply relax and try to picture his soulmate, now that he found Skye however he realised his visions had never done her justice.

“Scoot forward?”

Skye’s soft voice drifted from above Clint at the same time her fingers brushed up his arm and over his shoulder, opening his eyes to gaze up at her Clint sat up and slid forward. When Skye settled her hand on his shoulder Clint realised she was using him as a brace when he heard the quiet splash of the water, her light tug at his shoulders had him scooting backwards to lean back against her and rest his head on her shoulder.

As Skye slipped her legs beneath his arms and wrapped them around him, Clint sighed quietly his eyes locked on Skye’s feet as his hands stroked lightly along her shins. Taking one of Skye’s feet in his hands Clint began to lightly massage her foot, as he pressed his thumbs firmly into the arch of her foot he heard Skye’s strangled groan a split second before she started squirming behind him.

“Skye, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Hmm?” Skye hummed.

“I have a thing you should know about, a thing for feet.” Clint admitted sheepishly.

When Skye stilled behind him and the deafening silence in the room grew Clint was grateful that he wasn’t looking at her, he highly doubted he’d be able to look her in the eye after that admission.

“So, you’re telling me you have a foot fetish?” Skye whispered against his ear.

“Yes?”

“Huh. Well that actually would tie into something Jemma was telling me about yesterday,” Skye mumbled into Clint’s hair.

“Care to elaborate on that, Skye?” Clint asked as he pressed his thumbs into the arch of her foot again. _God, she did have beautiful feet, too, slender and elegant, high-arched…_

“Oh, hmm. Well Jemma was telling me about this scientific theory that romantic soulmates are sexually compatible. In that whatever one wants to do or have done to them the other likely wants or wants to do. Case in point your foot fetish and the fact that I get seriously aroused when my feet are massaged.”

Clint blinked slowly looking down to Skye’s foot in his hands, he was sorely tempted to test that theory so he slid his thumbs down to near Skye’s heel, pressing down with gentle but firm pressure he pushed his thumbs up towards Skye’s toes at the same time and was rewarded by Skye squirming once again behind him and her strangled moan by his ear, that had him smirking as he rasped “Interesting.”

“Hmm, you know that makes me wonder now. Does my curiosity about being tied up during sex stem from another of your kinks? And for the record I haven’t even tried that yet as I’ve never found someone I trust enough to be in that vulnerable a position with,” Skye asked curiously as she shifted to try and see the expression on Clint’s face.

Shaking his head slightly Clint wasn’t entirely sure he’d just heard Skye correctly, had she just admitted to being curious about being restrained during sex? His thoughts were scattered, albeit briefly, as Skye’s free leg slid along his stomach down towards his legs, as her ankle grazed over his growing erection he hissed softly, it was beyond him _how_ he was even getting hard again, even as a teenager his refractory period hadn’t been _that_ good. Hastily moving one hand from her foot he grasped the ankle of her wandering leg and held it firmly in place over his groin, when he could get enough brain processes working to speak his voice was gravel rough as he rasped “Do you trust me enough to let me tie you up?

“I do. So I’m curious, is it you playing with my feet, our fetish discussions or my revelation that I want to be tied up that’s getting you all fired up again?”

Skye’s voice was a breathy whisper by his ear as her hands slipped around his side and came to rest on his chest, Clint groaned as her fingers stroked along his chest in unison with her leg subtly rubbing over his arousal, it took him a good minute or two to focus on her words and form a coherent reply.

“All the above and you in general? Trust me when I say I’m just as surprised as you are that I’m standing at attention again so soon. So, will you let me?”

“Let you? Oh, you want to tie me up? Now?” Skye murmured curiously.

“Yeah, I really do. I mean I would have asked eventually, however you brought it up now and I can’t get the thought out of my head. If you’re concerned I won’t go overboard, not for your first time.”

The soft moan she let out in his ear and the evidence of her hardened nipples pressing against his back as she laid kisses against his shoulder had him grinning and getting to his feet, stepping out of the bath he swathed a towel around his waist before reaching for her.

“Come on then, beautiful.”

To taunt him she lifted her legs, perched her feet on the edge of the tub. Watched him lick his lips as he looked at her feet, foamy bubbles sliding off them to drip down her ankles. And then he went to his knees, grabbed her ankle in his strong hands and sucked her big toe into his mouth.

Skye’s eyes just about rolled back in her head as his tongue swirled sensuously around her toes. No one had ever done that to her before, she’d never have dared ask anyone to, but _oh god_ , Clint really knew what he was doing with his tongue…

She was just about to slip under water when he laughed quietly around her toes, stood up and scooped her out of the bath.


	16. Date Night Part Three

When Clint finally set her back on her feet by the bed Skye had to blink rapidly as he bundled a towel around her and began to pat and stroke along her body to dry her, though she suspected he was also doing this to torture her as the towel rasped deliciously over her hardened nipples and he spent just that fraction too long stroking the towel along and between her thighs.

Turning to crawl into the middle of Clint’s bed Skye watched as he crossed the room to the chest of drawers that sat beside his walk in closet, arching a brow upwards as he walked back with one of his leather belts in one hand and what looked like a tie in the other.

As Clint shed his towel and knelt on the end of his bed Skye watched him set the belt and tie aside, before she could even contemplate what he was about to do she felt his calloused fingers curl around her ankles, a startled yelp slipped free of Skye as she suddenly found herself being hauled towards Clint till she was lying diagonally across the bed.

“Hold your arms out for me, just like this.” Clint instructed gently.

Forcing herself to sit up Skye examined the way Clint was holding his arms and hands, mimicking the position she watched in silent awe as Clint reached for the belt and began to wind the soft leather around her wrists several times before sliding the belt end through the buckle and pulling it tight.

Skye found herself mesmerised by the way Clint moved as he crawled along the bed to straddle her legs, her gaze flicked from his face to the tie held firmly in one hand, settling her bound hands against Clint’s stomach Skye licked at her lips nervously, “What do you have in store for the tie?”

In all honesty she was just a little afraid of what his answer was going to be, her mind was already pondering the worst possibilities such as maybe he intended to choke her, or maybe he going to use it as a gag? Skye started as the silk of the tie fell across her bare shoulder, blinking as she re-emerged from her stupor Skye suddenly found herself looking into Clint’s midnight blue eyes as his hands brushed her hair back behind her ear.

“Blindfold. Sensory deprivation technique, take one sense out of the equation and it forces you to focus with and rely on the others.” His fingers traced gently around her temples. “It’s up to you, beautiful. I could leave that for another time.”

“No,” she murmured quietly. “No – do it. I trust you.”

“We need a safe word,” he said quietly, as he secured the tie over her eyes. “Something simple. _Red_ for stop, _yellow_ for slow down, yeah? And use them if anything I’m doing starts to feel in any way not comfortable for you, okay? This is for _your_ pleasure, Skye.”

“Okay,” she whispered as his fingers trailed gently down her chest. He was right, just blocking out her sight made every touch of his calloused fingertips on her skin doubly sensitive.

“What’s your safe words? Let me hear you say them.”

“Red for stop, yellow for slow down.”

“Good girl.” His tongue flickered over her nipple, and Skye barely suppressed a yelp.

The gentle graze of Clint’s teeth over the same nipple he’d just licked had Skye’s head swimming, she almost felt as though she were already drowning in pleasure, so much so that she hadn’t been anticipating the sharp nip he delivered before tugging at her nipple with his teeth.

She didn’t even try to suppress the yelp of surprise this time which had Clint rumbling a chuckle against her breast, the vibrations he caused drawing a low groan from her throat. Clint’s calloused fingers brushing beneath her breasts from her sternum to her ribs sent sparks racing through her nervous system, as his hands curved around her ribs Clint applied just enough pressure to push her back to the mattress.

Finding her bound hands suddenly pinned between their bodies Skye gasped quietly, she felt more than heard Clint shift, the sudden loss of his mouth on her breast and his weight against her arms making her whimper. She tried to focus past the sensation of Clint’s touch, eventually Skye heard the even rhythm of his breathing as his fingers dragged slowly down along her arms.

As he guided her arms up over her head Skye was aware of the vulnerable position it put her into, she felt Clint’s fingers brush against hers before manipulating them around the top of the bed post. The rasp of Clint’s fine layer of chest hair on Skye’s breasts was a delicious kind of torture, arching her back slightly higher off the bed she tried desperately for more body contact as he rumbled huskily “Keep hold of the footboard.”

When Clint finally settled his weight fully against her, pinning her to the mattress, Skye sighed contentedly, her legs shifting slightly to allow Clint to ease one muscular thigh between them as his mouth settled against her throat. His low growl against her skin sent a shiver coursing through Skye’s body, her fingers tightened against the footboard as Clint’s hands settled over her breasts as he slid his body along hers.

Skye became acutely aware of Clint’s thick, heavy arousal now resting in the crease of her leg where it met her body, as his calloused fingers began to alternate between squeezing her breasts firmly and kneading them she felt his muscular thigh shift to press against her crotch.

“Oh….” Skye murmured breathlessly as her body instinctively shifted to arch her breasts into his hands as her crotch ground against his thigh.

“Skye?” Clint queried against her throat, he wanted to make sure she wasn’t overwhelmed and trying to speak one of the safe words.

“I’m good, all green here.” She panted breathlessly while shifting one leg, bending it in an effort to get more leverage to push up against Clint’s body.

Skye wasn’t entirely sure when exactly Clint had released one of her breasts, all she knew was that there were suddenly two calloused fingers brushed along her lower lip before flicking it. Parting her lips Skye captured those two fingers in her mouth and began to suck, as Clint growled against her throat she hummed against his fingers before stroking her tongue along them, the rough calluses against her tongue were a strange but not unpleasant sensation that when combined with Clint suddenly biting down against her shoulder had her groaning around his fingers.

When Clint pulled his fingers free of her mouth Skye huffed in protest, right up until his wrist nudged the knee of her bent leg outwards as he moved his body slightly so he could settle his hand over her crotch. As Clint’s spit slicked fingers slid easily into her heated core Skye shuddered beneath him in ecstasy, his unerring aim hit the small bundle of nerves hidden within, instantly causing Skye’s hips to jerk upwards against his hand.

“Are you a marksman at…” Skye trailed off momentarily on a moan as Clint’s fingers crooked and stroked deeper, his mouth was busying itself licking and kissing at the hollow of her throat; as she tried to regain her train of thought it took her a couple of minutes to swim through the haze of passion filling her head to eventually finish her question “everything you do?”

“I’m mildly insulted that you’re only just noticing that now, beautiful,” Clint rumbled against the delicate skin of her throat.

“I’ll try and make it up to you and your bruised pride later, preferably when you’re _not_ driving me out of my mind with need.” Skye stuttered slightly as Clint’s fingers stroked devilishly, coiling her body tight with overwhelming need.

The sudden loss of Clint’s wicked fingers and the delicious weight of his body had Skye crying out her frustration with barely muffled curses, she could just vaguely make out the sound of him rustling in the drawer.

“Such a filthy mouth on you _malyutka_ , does Coulson know you swear like a sailor?” Clint teased as he rolled the condom onto his achingly hard cock, moving to settle back between Skye’s legs he leant down to kiss his way up along her stomach as his hands stroked teasingly at her sides.

“He may have heard it once or twice, wait what did you call me? What does _maluteka_ mean?” Skye asked more than a little puzzled, she knew she’d slaughtered the pronunciation of that what she assumed was possibly Russian word, but she was curious.

Settling his body back over Skye’s, Clint dropped and curled one hand around his heavy arousal to guide his blunt sheathed head just inside Skye’s tight, moist channel before running his hands up along her arms to close her hands over hers where they grasped at the footboard, brushing a kiss across her temple he whispered by her ear “It’s pronounced _Malyutka_ , it’s Russian for little one.”

“Between you and the Widow, I think I’m really going to need to learn Russian.” Skye muttered, slightly frustrated as she arched her back and wriggled her hips to try and coax Clint inside her further.

Digging his toes into the mattress Clint thrust himself forward hard, sinking easily into Skye’s slick channel in one solid stroke as he captured her mouth in a frenzied kiss just as she began to moan.

He felt Skye shift her other leg, he assumed in order to brace her feet against the mattress, which was soon confirmed as he felt the slightest brush of her feet by his knees as he thrust into Skye’s welcoming core, he groaned against her mouth as she managed to lift her hips to meet his thrust.

Forcing himself to break the kiss so they could both breathe Clint looked down on Skye’s expressive face, his next thrust had her sucking her lower lip between her teeth and biting down as she groaned.

Moving his hands from hers Clint settled them against the mattress as he pulled out of Skye and pushed himself to his knees, her cry of disappointment he hushed with a light kiss before soothingly murmuring “It’s alright _Malyutka_ , roll onto your right side for me?”

Stroking one hand lightly down along Skye’s spine as she turned Clint shifted to straddle her right leg, his free hand he used to guide Skye’s slender left leg around his left side.

Leaning down over Skye, Clint closed his right hand gently over the top of both of Skye’s, his left closing around his throbbing arousal as he teasingly brushed it along her sex, licking around Skye’s outer ear he murmured “Still all good?”

His response was a breathy hum and her leg tightening around his side, he took that as permission to continue and guided himself back into Skye’s tight, heated core, he slid effortlessly between rhythms going between slow and shallow to deep and hard all the while studying Skye’s expressions.

“Yellow, definitely yellow,” Skye pleaded after a few moments.

With a low chuckle Clint settled into the slow and shallow rhythm as the fingers of his left hand set about lightly pinching and teasing one of her nipples, he could hear Skye softly mumbling incoherently beneath her breath and chose to silence her by settling his mouth over hers in a tender, seeking kiss.

As he was soundly kissing Skye while maintaining the slow pace she’d pleaded for, Clint slowly became aware of vibrations through the footboard beneath their hands, easing back from the kiss he lifted his head to cast a glance around the room thankfully nothing appeared to be violently shaking, though he could hear a slight thumping on the wood floor that he was assuming was likely their boots.

Given the gentle nature of the vibrations he could feel in the footboard Clint was pretty sure, at least for the most part, that Skye wasn’t losing control of her abilities, he did make a mental note to keep aware of it though just in case.

Skimming his hand down along her breast Clint watched as Skye’s tongue darted out to moisten her lips as his calloused fingers glided down her stomach, he stalled momentarily to stroke his fingers over the puckered skin of her scars that drew a breathy plea from Skye’s throat that he almost missed.

“Please.”

“Please what, _Malyutka_? Tell me, what are you after, my beautiful girl?” Clint murmured against Skye’s cheek.

“Harder, go harder Clint. I want….no I _need_ you Clint as deep and hard as you can go, please?” Skye begged urgently.

He could feel the slight quivering of her internal muscles around his cock, the vibrations in the footboard were also gradually getting stronger, so Clint did as Skye begged, driving deep and hard into Skye’s pliant body. As his head dropped to her throat he growled “As you wish, _Malyutka_.”

Slipping his left hand down from Skye’s stomach Clint brushed his thumb across her clit with just enough pressure to draw a gasp from her, matching the strokes of his thumbs to his thrusts it wasn’t long till Skye was writhing beneath him.

Skye was teetering right on the edge of her climax, Clint could tell, her muscles just starting to spasm around his cock. He wasn’t far off himself as he felt the familiar tingle roll down his spine as his balls pulled tight.

The sudden jerking and loud thuds as his bed began to shake and move on the floor was another clear indicator that Skye was close to her breaking point, pressing firmly on Skye’s clit as he licked along her collar bone to her throat and latched onto her skin, sucking firmly as he thrust harder.

As Skye clenched tight around his throbbing cock she bit down against his shoulder to muffle her cry, a couple more thrusts and Clint buried deep inside Skye and with a guttural growl against her throat came hard inside her.

It was a heady experience for Clint riding his aftershocks and Skye’s as the bed still jostled, though he noticed as Skye came down from her blissful high the quakes she was creating were slowly dying out.

Reaching up with his left hand Clint unfastened his tie and pulled it from around her eyes, brushing a feather light kiss across her lips he murmured “You got this under control Skye? Last thing we need is for the bed to go through the floor.”

“Talk about making the earth move huh?” Skye giggled softly as she closed her eyes and worked on locking her powers back down.

Easing out of Skye, Clint shifted off the bed and removed the condom, disposing of it quickly, pulling the bedding back he climbed back onto the bed and knelt between Skye’s legs where she now lay on her back, as her arms came over his head Clint slid his hands under her ass.

Lifting her off the bed and flush against him Clint shuffled them awkwardly on his knees along the bed, turning them he settled down half reclined with his back resting against the pile of pillows. Easing her arms from over his head Clint reached for his belt and unfastened it, tossing it onto the floor he looked up into Skye’s dark eyes he asked “Did I sate your curiosity?”

“Actually, I think you whet my appetite,” Skye admitted sheepishly as she lifted one hand to stroke it through Clint’s hair as she wriggled backwards enough to lay atop him and rest her head against his shoulder.

Clint blinked as Skye’s words registered. And then he began to chuckle huskily. “Oh, beautiful. How much fun I’m going to have exploring this little kink of yours.”

Skye tried to hide her scarlet cheeks behind her hair, but he wasn’t having any of it, smoothing her hair away from her face and kissing tenderly along her jawline.

“My perfect match,” Clint whispered against Skye’s neck, making her shudder again. “Perfect.”

 


	17. Unexpected

Skye had been in a blissfully deep sleep, right up until the mattress beneath her bounced and an exasperated sigh sounded from beside her head, turning her head Skye cracked one eye open followed soon after by the other when she found a pair of bright emerald eyes staring at her.

“Natasha? What time is it?” Skye grumbled quietly.

“About an hour past when you were meant to meet me, Skye.”

Groaning Skye rolled over beneath the sheet and crossed her arms over her chest as she sat up, she was blissfully sore as she stretched before looking to Natasha who was examining her with one delicate brow arched upwards her lips twitching with amusement.

“Sorry, I guess I over slept the alarm. Give me a couple of minutes to get changed?”

“Clock’s ticking Skye.”

Rolling from the bed Skye fought back the blush she could feel rising at her nudity as she crossed the room, ducking into the closet Skye threw on fresh underwear and her gym shorts and shirt.

“Had a good night I take it?” Natasha called casually.

“Ahh, you could say that. We talked some stuff through and _experimented_ ,” Skye said vaguely as she emerged, pulling her hair into a pony tail.

Sitting down on the bed Skye pulled her sneakers on and was in the process of lacing them up when she heard Natasha’s thoughtful hum that soon turned into a quiet chuckle.

“Experimented? Is that what we are going to call the tremors JARVIS monitored here last night?” Natasha said amidst her growing chuckles.

“Oh. My. God! That is sooo embarrassing. Who else knows? About the tremors I mean?” Skye squeaked as she felt her cheeks heat.

“Tony, I had to threaten his manhood to keep him from storming in here and then Pepper took over his leash to distract him for the rest of the night. You’re welcome.”

“Thanks, Natasha. That probably would have ended _very_ badly if Stark had stormed in.” Standing at the same time Natasha did Skye, took the bottle of Gatorade the redhead offered, she fell into step easily with Natasha as she took a large gulp from the bottle on the way to the elevator.

“Hmm, let me guess. Clint admitted his foot fetish, yet I doubt that alone would lead to the tremors you were creating,” Natasha pondered aloud as she studied Skye’s face.

“I so do not know you well enough yet for us to be discussing that Clint and I were experimenting with bondage,” Skye huffed, her eyes widening as she slapped a hand over her mouth as she realised she’d said the last part aloud when both Natasha’s brows shot up and her mouth curved into a wicked grin.

“Well, well, I didn’t know Clint had it in him. I may have to expand your education Skye, in more than just combat.”

“I am _very_ scared of you right now. I’m not sure I want to be your protégé in kinky sex skills Natasha, at least not without Clint present.”

Natasha’s sudden snort of laughter as they emerged from the elevator into the gym had Skye grinning as the older woman curled one arm around her shoulder and leant in to whisper conspiratorially “I’m sure Clint would be _all_ aboard for that, Skye.”

Stopping suddenly Skye dropped the bottle of Gatorade, her dark eyes wide, though in all honesty she wasn’t sure if it was Natasha’s comment or the sight of Clint hanging by his arms from the climbing rope that broke her ability to have a coherent thought or to even move.

“Umm,” Skye mumbled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From his position suspended from the climbing rope Clint had seen the moment Natasha and Skye had entered, though as Skye pulled up short he found himself wondering just what Natasha had whispered into her ear. Easing down from the ropes Clint made his way across to the pair, Skye appeared frozen in place and as he got closer he heard her mumbling short incoherent sentences.

Pulling Skye against his chest Clint dropped his head to brush a kiss across the top of her head, hugging her he lifted his eyes to meet Natasha’s gaze as his best friend arched one of those perfect delicate eyebrows of hers.

“Ugg, you’re all sweaty.” Skye muttered.

He felt Skye turn her head to rest her cheek against his chest, chuckling he unwrapped his arms and let Skye step back as he teased “Thought you liked it when I got all sweaty.”

“Umm, you two are definitely trying to break my brain. Clint by looking all hot and yummy and sweaty and those arms and Natasha……. Well _she_ can tell you, preferably later, _much_ later after training when I’m nowhere near you guys.”

There was definitely a story behind that which Clint was going to be looking into later, right now he was willing to let it go though, hooking his fingers under Skye’s chin he tilted her head up and leant down to kiss her gently.

“I’ll leave you two to train, I have someone I need to go see,” Clint murmured against Skye’s soft lips.

As he moved past Skye, Clint swung one hand backwards to swat her on the ass, he relished the squeak that Skye let out in surprise and he was pretty sure he also heard Natasha snicker. Heading out of the gym and into the elevator Clint tilted his gaze to the ceiling and asked “JARVIS, can you take me to Jemma please.”

When the doors opened onto Bucky’s floor Clint stepped out and called out “Barnes, you two better be decent, if not get that way. I need to talk to your girl.”

“Barton, you’re an ass with the worst fucking timing!” Bucky shouted back mere moments before he wandered out of his bedroom hiking his sweatpants up.

“Sue me Buck, but it’s important. I need Jemma’s input on something for Skye.”

“What’s this about Skye?” Jemma asked curiously as she sidled out buttoning up one of Bucky’s shirts that dwarfed her petite form and flowed about her knees.

“I was hoping to get some input from you, Jemma. I’m thinking about throwing a surprise birthday party for Skye next week.” Clint moved to the breakfast counter and settled himself on one of the stools. His gaze focused on Jemma’s face as she settled on the stool at the opposite end.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea that she’d absolutely love, except for one thing. None of us, not even Skye knows _when_ her birthday is,” Jemma admitted quietly as she accepted the mug of coffee Bucky passed to her.

“Wait a minute, how is that possible?” Bucky asked curiously.

“Skye grew up an orphan, moving from foster home to foster home. Her orphanage records were heavily redacted by SHIELD. It’s why she has no surname that she likes to acknowledge, in the orphanage she was called Mary-Sue Poots, and her biological father _insists_ her name is Daisy. She prefers the name she picked for herself.”

“I know when her birthday is, it’s impossible for me to forget the day her words burned into my arm and changed my life. It’s coming up next week and now that I know she’s never known or had a birthday party I think we all need to rectify this situation.”

“She’d definitely be surprised by it Clint, that’s for sure. I can put a call into Coulson, see if the team could come back for it. She considers us her family.”

“That’d be appreciated Jemma, I’ll go have a chat with Pepper. She’s great with organising parties and then I’ll get back to you with the date and time…..or maybe I’ll just have JARVIS let you know so Bucky isn’t tempted to kill me for interrupting again.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Staring at the ceiling of the gym Skye groaned, for the past hour she’d been unable to focus and was paying the price for it with Natasha effectively kicking her ass, rolling backwards and into a crouch Skye rolled her shoulders then shook her arms as she watched Natasha prowl around her like a predatory cat.

Closing her eyes Skye focused on all her other senses, reaching outwards, she could just make out the soft slide of Natasha’s bare feet on the training mats. She could feel her power thrumming beneath the surface, like a thousand angry bees fighting to get out, Skye felt the vibrations in the air behind her alter and spun round, her eyes flying open.

She was met with the sight of a dagger flying towards her, flinging one hand up Skye let loose her power knocking the dagger enough that it flew just past her ear; however the vibrations she let loose kept expanding outwards. Skye watched in silent horror as the wave struck Natasha and sent her flying across the gym, at the same time Skye heard the loud creak as several pieces of the gym equipment dragged across the metal floor.

Reining her powers back in hurriedly Skye winced at the familiar pain that ripped through her arms, hurrying over to Natasha she dropped to her knees by the redhead’s side even as the doors to the gym burst open with a deafening crash. “Oh god, Natasha, I’m so sorry.”

Skye could vaguely hear Steve and Clint’s worried voices growing closer but her gaze remained locked on the dazed form of Natasha, when emerald eyes slowly blinked and focused on her Skye breathed a sigh of relief. As Natasha slowly pushed up into a seated position and settled her hand on Skye’s forearm, she was unable to contain her hiss of pain as she backed away from Natasha and cradled her arms in against her stomach.

“Skye?” Steve’s tone held a strange mix of concern and worry Skye had never heard before.

Pushing herself to her feet Skye turned to flee and instead ran face first into Clint whose hands locked like clamps around her upper arms, before she knew what was happening Skye found herself being backed up and gently guided down onto one of the benches with three pairs of concerned eyes focused on her bruising arms.

“Guys, I’m fine, mostly. This happens if I have to forcefully contain my ability, I just need my braces off Jemma,” Skye muttered quietly.

“It hurts you to restrain your abilities?”

Skye could hear the confusion in Steve’s tone, looking up she flinched at the pained expression he wore and tried to hurriedly reassure him “Only if I have to do it quickly, it’s a side effect I guess. We discovered it after I thought I had a handle on my ability, I thought I was controlling it, turns out I was actually channelling it inwards. Wound up with a heap of fractures ranging from my clavicles to my fingers.”

“Since Jemma is otherwise occupied at the moment, I’m taking you down to see Bruce _now_. No arguments,” Clint stated gruffly.

As one of his muscular arms curled around her waist Skye found herself being hauled to her feet with Clint as he stood, leaning into Clint her dark gaze moved back to Natasha. “What about Natasha? She should probably get checked out too.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her.”

When Natasha and Steve spoke simultaneously Skye blinked as Clint chuckled quietly, as the pair looked to each other strangely Skye spoke softly enough that only Clint could hear, “They’d be so cute together.”

“Never mind the distractions, _malyutka_. I’m concerned you didn’t tell me about this earlier,” Clint rumbled as he guided Skye out of the gym.

“Sorry, I couldn’t really think of an easy way to say ‘Oh by the way, I sometimes channel my ability inward when trying to stop it and it fractures my bones’. There is really no good way to spin that particular tidbit that _wouldn’t_ have you freaking the fuck out.”

“I dunno, that seems to cover all the bases. Skye, you know I would never press you to tell me everything, but things like _this,_ ” Here Clint stalled and moved his free hand to lightly brush two fingers across her forearm, when he caught sight of her wince he sighed and let his hand drop before continuing “I need to know about, sweetheart.”

“If it’s any consolation I’ll let you spank me later for keeping secrets again?” Skye teased quietly as they made their way into the lab.

“Be careful what you offer _malyutka_ , I may hold you to that.” Clint growled quietly by Skye’s ear before brushing a kiss across her temple before turning his attention back to the lab and its occupants, “Bruce? We need your medical knowhow.”

“Do I want to ask?” Bruce called back with a weary tone as he sidled out of a cubicle in the process of cleaning his glasses with Tony hot on his heels.

“Skye’s ability backfired,” Clint said cautiously his gaze focused on Tony.

“Oh, I was wondering if I’d get to witness that. Doctor Simmons was telling me about it the other day. Tony make yourself useful and go get me Jemma’s bag from my desk.”

“Don’t sound so excited,” Skye muttered quietly as she let Clint guide her over to one of the metal workbenches, when his large hands curled around her sides to hoist her up onto the bench she blinked before mumbling “Thanks.”

“Ah, sorry. I’ve been told on occasion that my bedside manner sucks,” Bruce admitted sheepishly as he slid his glasses back into place, reaching out tentatively to lift one of Skye’s arms.

“Backfired, Barton? Between this incident today and the incident last night are we sure it’s safe for her to be here?” Tony queried as he set Jemma’s bag on the bench beside Skye, turning he crossed the room to collect the machine he’d been adjusting before crossing back to Bruce. “This might be a good opportunity to test the hybrid scanner we’ve been working on, Bruce.”

Tony’s questions had Skye dropping her gaze to her knees, she suddenly felt like that same scared girl locked in the quarantine cage after San Juan, this time unfortunately there was no Fitz to soothe her frazzled nerves and ease her fears with a much needed comforting hug.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The moment Stark had opened his big fat mouth Clint watched silently as Skye essentially shut down, pulling into herself and hiding behind her hair, turning as Bruce hummed in response to the last part of Stark’s spiel Clint grabbed hold of the billionaire’s arm and forcefully pulled him aside.

“Stark, that’s not helping. Last night is none of your damn business; she had that under control and this…..well this is something different. She was training with Tasha and used her ability and the moment she knew it was getting out of her control Skye _chose_ to force her ability back inside despite knowing full well it was going to hurt her in the process. If she goes, Stark, I go. Try using that large brain of yours to think before you speak, Skye’s fragile when it comes to her ability. Her team really didn’t handle it well from bits and pieces I’m hearing.”

Tony opened his mouth to retort back – and then he caught Bruce’s look and stopped, scratching at his head thoughtfully. “Ah. Yes. Well – sometime new abilities can be difficult to deal with.”

“Just give her the same courtesy I know you gave Bruce,” Clint hissed quietly. “You never treated _him_ like a dangerous monster. Why the hell should Skye be any different? Just because she’s a girl?”

“You’re right, you’re right, goddamn it I hate having to say that to other people!” Tony threw his hands up.

“You know for a self proclaimed genius, you seem to stick your foot in your mouth a hell of a lot. Or is it more to do with your atrocious people skills?” Shaking his head Clint crossed back to the bench, Bruce had pulled a stool across and was now seated hunched over Skye’s bruised arms with the scanner Tony had brought over.

“A bit of both probably.” Tony admitted quietly as he followed Clint, moving around the other side of Bruce, Tony looked over his shoulder at the screen and the grainy images there before continuing “I thought we fixed the image quality?”

“We did, I think this is Skye’s ability at play manipulating the fine vibrations from the scanner wand. I can’t seem to detect any new fractures, though there are some that were healing that appear to have taken a step backwards. Tony, in Jemma’s bag there are two pairs of specially designed braces, could you retrieve them for me please?”

Studying the grainy image over Bruce’s shoulder Clint felt his face falling into a deep frown, he could only guess how painful it was for Skye with the number of hairline fractures she was sporting in both her forearms. Her silence was the more worrying concern Clint faced however, hauling himself up onto the workbench beside Skye he curled one arm around her shoulder.

As Skye leant into him to rest her head against his shoulder Clint breathed a little easier, turning to brush a kiss to her hair he started to hum soothingly, much in the same way his closest childhood friend Carly used to do for him in the circus whenever he’d hurt himself.

Watching Tony as he approached with the two pairs of gloves Clint was vaguely aware of their soft argument over the braces which to him actually looked more like gloves to be honest, from what he could determine they couldn’t decide on which pair to use or even what each pair did. It was as Bruce turned with one of the pairs and prepared to ease the first one on over Skye’s hand that she showed any sign of cognitive awareness as her voice emerged in a mere whisper.

“Not those ones. Please? Those are the inhibitors, designed to _stop_ my ability, but when I wear them I feel nauseous. Please don’t make me wear those ones,” Skye whispered as her dark eyes flicked between Bruce and Tony both of whom suddenly appeared to be frowning.

Skye’s quiet plea hadn’t only affected him Clint was pleased to see, as he watched the identical frowns forming on Bruce and Tony’s faces as they glanced at each other and then the braces in Bruce’s hands. Glancing down Clint met Skye’s dark shiny eyes as she tilted her head to look up at him, closing the slight distance between them to rest his forehead against Skye’s he murmured reassuringly “No one will _make_ you do anything you don’t want to do sweetheart, you have my promise on that.”

 


	18. Seeking Input

This isn't a new chapter more an author seeking input. I am contemplating a Skye/Clint story to commence when I finish this one possibly where Clint is an Inhuman.

  
My thinking is that during Avengers while Clint was under Loki's control Loki discovered that Clint wasn't a mere human and that Loki's scepter during AoU triggered Clint's Inhuman abilities without him having to go through Terragenesis.

  
Anyways what I'm seeking is suggestions and ideas for what ability Clint gets. If you have any ideas or recommendations please feel free to drop them in a comment below.


	19. Surprise!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delays but between writers block and real life medical issues with my mum I've kind of been all over the shop lately and not in the best of headspaces.

For the past week Skye had been unable to shake the feeling that certain people in the tower were up to something, those people namely being Pepper, Jemma and Clint, though she was unable to glean enough information out of JARVIS to work out what was going on.

To say it was shaking her trust in Clint would be an understatement, when she cornered him two nights ago to ask he’d given her an elusive response of _We have our secrets_ , to which she’d responded by thumping his chest and storming off to get blind drunk with Natasha.

She’d woken the following morning in Natasha’s spare room seriously hung over and had burrowed back beneath the covers, falling back to sleep almost at once. The next time she awoke it was to the press of bare flesh beneath her cheek. Skye would admit to the briefest of panic attacks until she cracked one eye partially open and saw the familiar shape of Clint’s jaw, his steady breathing had made her think he was sleeping but as she tried to extract herself from his arms without waking him she had soon found out otherwise.

Suffice to say what they’d gotten up to next hadn’t earned them any favours with Natasha, considering she’d walked into the room to the sight of Clint’s bare ass as he had Skye pressed back against the wall in only her t-shirt with her bare legs wrapped around his waist.

Skye hadn’t been able to stop her fit of giggles at Natasha’s fluctuating expressions as she cursed fluently in multiple languages at Clint, who had surprisingly never lost his pace and rhythm as he said God only knew what back to the irate ex-Russian assassin standing in the doorway.

It’d taken Skye several hours to track down Natasha with a bottle of her favourite Vodka and a gift basket of her favourite treats that ranged from chocolates to caviar, courtesy of Pepper and JARVIS’s knowledge of the Tower residents’ likes and dislikes.

Since then Skye had spent the past day and a half trying to figure out what was going on and getting nowhere fast, the last time she’d seen Clint today had been at breakfast.

The better part of that particular day Skye had spent with her attention focused on the screen of Clint’s Stark tablet as she sat cross legged in one corner of the shooting range, not that it had gotten her anywhere. She’d been so enthralled in what she was doing that she wasn’t even aware of the time passing until her stomach had growled loudly and she’d glanced at the time only to realise that she’d completely missed lunch.

Leaning against the rear wall of the elevator Skye’s gaze remained on the tablet in her hand even as she addressed JARVIS with her destination, as the elevator eventually came to a halt Skye padded out on bare feet without looking up from her reading.

“Surprise!”

The loud chorus of voices jerked Skye from her thoughts with a startled squawk, the tablet she held had gone flying towards the noise on instinct, wincing as she back-pedaled and waited for the impromptu weapon to hit someone or something. Thankfully Steve’s reflexes were quick enough to prevent the tablet from hitting Pepper. Skye felt her brow furrowing as she took in the group standing in the common area living room, old family and new were all gathered and dressed neatly compared to her ratty old t-shirt, sweatpants and unbrushed hair.

“Ah, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt,” Skye turned and made a hasty retreat back towards the elevator, her cheeks were heated with embarrassment as she heard familiar voices calling her name; pointedly ignoring them she stepped back into the mumbling “Clint’s please, JARVIS.”

There was a stall before the elevator began moving that had Skye frowning but she stayed facing the rear wall, she _knew_ she wasn’t alone, she could hear the slow steady breaths of someone else. It wasn’t until familiar muscular arms wrapped around her waist that she realised it was Clint, his chin coming to rest atop her shoulder.

“Where are you going, Skye?” Clint hummed by her ear.

“I didn’t want to intrude? Especially not after almost hitting Pepper with your tablet,” Skye muttered quietly before then asking “What was going on anyways?”

“Birthday party,” Clint stated before turning his head to brush a kiss against Skye’s neck.

“Oh? Whose? Wait, did I miss some memo or something about this?” Skye frowned, tilting her head back against Clint’s shoulder to glare at the ceiling of the elevator, she felt more than heard Clint’s low chuckle against the side of her neck and groused; “What’s so funny?”

“It’s for you, sweetheart. Jemma was supposed to bring you in after making sure you were dressed slightly better than you are, but I’m guessing Bucky distracted her again,” Clint huffed gently against her skin as his arms tightened slightly about her waist.

“It’s my birthday?” Skye asked quietly as Clint guided them back out of the elevator on to his floor, slipping out of his hold she turned questioning eyes on to him as she asked “How are you so sure?”

Running her eyes over Clint she blinked not once but twice as she took in the dark purple short sleeved dress shirt he wore with a pair of black casual slacks, in all honesty it was the first time she’d seen him not dressed in jeans, sweatpants, t-shirts or tactical gear. Licking her lips unconsciously Skye tried to focus as she waited for Clint’s answer, she watched as he rubbed unconsciously over her words on his inner arm before he finally admitted quietly “It’s hard to forget the day your life changes for the better.”

That made Skye’s heart miss a beat, suddenly the putrid taste of guilt rose in her throat and she felt bad for growing mistrustful of Clint over that past week, she _knew_ now that he’d been keeping secrets while obviously planning her first ever birthday party.

Skye felt her eyes dampen as she stepped forward back to Clint, wrapping her arms round his waist she hugged him tightly as she nuzzled against his chest murmuring “Thank you, it was a wonderful thought. Though in future, no more surprise parties, please? I don’t like it when you keep secrets from me. Also for the record you _really_ need to dress like this more often, even if only for date nights.”

“For you, I think I can manage that, Skye. Go get changed, there are a couple of presents I’d like to give you away from everyone else.”

Skye couldn’t help the filthy thoughts that crept into her head and was pretty sure by the wry smirk suddenly curving Clint’s mouth that she was grinning like a loon, rising onto her toes she kissed his cheek before murmuring “Maybe you’d like to come help me pick something out?”

“Sweetheart, if I do _that_ we won’t be getting out of here anytime soon. Go pick something nice, everyone’s waiting.”

Making her way into the bedroom Skye went straight for the closet, already shedding her t-shirt and sweatpants, several minutes later she made her way out to the living area struggling to zip up the dress she now wore. Making her way to where Clint now sat on the couch she stopped in front of him and settled her hands on her hips with an exasperated huff, muttering “I swear they design these things so you can’t put them on by yourself. Think you can zip me up, handsome?”

Turning her back to Clint, Skye’s gaze dropped to the wrapped package sitting on the coffee table, before she could even ask about it she felt Clint’s knuckles brushing along the bared skin of her back as he pulled the dress zipper up. When his arm curled around her waist she went willingly as he tugged her down onto the couch beside him, when Clint leant forward to pick up the wrapped package Skye cocked her head slightly.

As he settled back against the couch and laid the parcel across her lap Skye blinked at him in confusion; when he gestured at the parcel and mouthed _open it_ she settled against his side and began to unwind the string from around the brown paper. When she folded the paper back Skye’s breath hitched before rushing out in a soft sigh, sitting inside the paper was a bow of similar design to the one she _knew_ Clint used though smaller in size.

“I did say I was going to teach you to shoot a bow, so I figured you should have one of your own,” Clint whispered against Skye’s hair as he watched her fingers trace the bow’s arms and string reverently.

Leaning forward Skye set the bow and paper back onto the coffee table, turning to face Clint she shifted on to his lap straddling his legs, bringing her hands up to cup his cheeks she leant in and brushed a light kiss across his lips murmuring quietly, “It’s beautiful, I adore it.”

“Good, there’s one more gift I have to give you here.” Clint grinned before tilting his head back slightly and letting out a shrill whistle.

She’d been about to ask what that was for when she heard the faint sound of something skittering along the hardwood floors, turning her confused gaze to Clint Skye completely missed the large gold Labrador that came barrelling around the corner of the couch, right up until he launched onto the couch and wedged his head under Clint’s arm.

“You bought me a _dog_?” Skye asked incredulously.

“Kinda, I adopted _us_ a dog. Figured it’d be a good way to test the waters for the future, you know? Read somewhere that dogs are essentially the same as kids, plus when I saw him he grew on me. Lady at the shelter said he’d been there so long he was at the end of his second chance.” Clint said softly as he scruffed the head of the one-eyed dog.

“Lucky for him you came along then, you’re just a big ol’ bleeding heart Clint. You know, I think that’s what we should call him,” Skye reached out to scratch behind the dog’s ear.

“What? A big ol’ bleeding heart or Clint Jr?” Clint teased.

“No, Lucky,” Skye shot back with a grin as the Labrador barked happily and wagged his tail excitedly. “You like that boy, you wanna be called Lucky?” Skye cooed.

It was at about the point where Lucky slurped his wet tongue up along her cheek that Skye clicked to precisely what Clint had said, she’d not been fully paying attention and it had literally only _just_ registered.

“Wait, what? _Testing the waters_? _Dogs are like kids_? Clint, is this your roundabout way of opening up the whole ‘ _do you wanna have kids’_ conversation?” Skye squeaked quietly, her fingers stilling mid-scratch behind Lucky’s ear as her eyes moved back to meet Clint’s.

“Yes?” Clint drawled a little uncertainly.

“Do you want kids? It’s kind of something I haven’t thought about before. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that I _don’t_ want kids, just that I’m not sure what kind of mother I’d make. I didn’t really _have_ a mother growing up and I’m not sure I’d want to use May as an example for how to deal with young children,” Skye slid her fingers through Lucky’s fur to find Clint’s where he’d been scratching behind Lucky’s other ear.

“I’d never really thought about it before either, not until I saw this big lug looking all pitifully at me in the animal shelter,” Clint said, bemused, as Lucky cocked his head and whined indignantly.

“You know I get the feeling there’s some crack I should be making here about winding up with two big ol’, loyal dumb blonds in my life, but frankly I can’t seem to care. You’re both _my_ boys now, you’re family,” Skye said quietly as she awkwardly hooked her free arm around Clint’s neck, her other already across the bouncing one-eyed Labrador.

“No,” Clint said flatly as he curled his free arm around Skye’s waist, leaning his forehead against hers he continued “I’m not your boy, Skye, I’m your _man_.”

There was no way known that Skye could hold in her soft snicker at that particular statement from Clint, ruffling the fur at Lucky’s neck and Clint’s hair at the same time Skye shot back “Well in that case, my _man_ needs to feed me because I’m starving. I lost track of time and didn’t get lunch, and we also have friends and family waiting upstairs.”

Lucky’s whimper was one of what Skye would consider agreement, from the corner of her eye she could see his tail wagging again, turning her attention back to Clint she asked “You did feed him when you brought him home, right?”

“Ahh,” Clint mumbled as Lucky snorted in what could be construed as disgust, at the same time Skye groaned.

“Oh lord, you _forgot_ to feed the dog in like the first couple of hours? Right, he’s coming upstairs too,” Skye said simply as she pushed herself up off Clint’s lap, turning she moved round the couch, tapping her hand against her thigh to call Lucky.

“You know, Stark’s probably going to shit bricks when he sees Lucky come in with us, I didn’t exactly seek permission to get a dog before I went and got him,” Clint said as he circled the couch to meet up with the pair, curling his arm round Skye’s waist as they headed for the elevator.

“Tough, he’ll just have to deal, because Lucky isn’t going anywhere and if Stark’s stubborn enough to try he’s going to learn first hand just how stubborn and dangerous I can be,” Skye said coolly, slipping her arm round Clint’s waist as Lucky nudged his head up under her free hand.

As the doors opened Skye watched Lucky bolt hastily out, shaking her head with a soft laugh she leant against Clint and murmured “I think the two of you are going to keep me on my toes.”

“What the _hell_ is that?” Tony’s voice echoed around the room and was soon followed by “ _Who_ let this mangy mongrel into the Tower? No pets without my permission, you guys know the rules.”

“Stark, I swear to god if you scare _our_ dog or lay one finger on his scruffy head I’m going to hack your bank accounts and make multiple charitable donations to orphanages all around the world,” Skye stopped by Tony and crossed her arms over her chest, looking at him pointedly with one brow raised.

“Aww, he’s so adorable, Skye. Does he have a name?” Pepper cooed as she crouched down by the golden Labrador to scratch behind his ear.

“We decided on Lucky,” Clint answered Pepper’s question as Skye was busy staring down Tony, though he could see the billionaire’s hands twitching at his side.

“Pepper!” Tony said incredulously as his eyes broke from Skye’s to lock upon his girlfriend crouched down cooing over the mangy mongrel, when it started licking Pepper’s hand Tony cringed and snapped “God, don’t let _it_ lick you, who knows where _it’s_ been!”

“Lucky is a _he_ , not an it, Tony. You’re the one who keeps telling everybody the Tower is their home, you can’t turn around and be an obnoxious landlord declaring what they can and can’t do in their homes,” Pepper stated flatly as she turned her annoyed glare onto her boyfriend.

Skye couldn’t stop the quiet snicker that slipped free at the pained expression on Tony’s face from Pepper’s dressing-down, nor the slightly aggrieved twitch of his mouth when Lucky trotted up to head butt him in the thigh.

“Fine, _he_ can stay. But he better not piss all over everything,” Tony said with a huff before dropping one hand heavily on the dog’s head. “Are you a good dog? You are a good dog, aren’t you? Oh my God, Clint, he’s only got one eye! The poor boy! Maybe I can build him a prosthetic one…”

“No!”

The chorus of voices had Skye blinking, she’d expected Clint to chime in with her denial but she really _hadn’t_ expected the loudest voice to be Bucky, though the rest of their friends and family appeared to have paled visibly too at the thought of Tony turning poor Lucky into some sort of Frankendog.

Skye had been about to put her foot down, quiet literally _on_ Tony’s, when Pepper had stalked over, there was honestly _no_ other word for Skye to describe the way the CEO had moved, grabbed Tony by the front of his shirt and stated flatly “No, Tony. The dog’s happy. The input from a cybernetic eye would simply confuse him.”

“Okay,” very much outvoted, Tony hastily back peddled. “I just, I thought….”

“Well don’t!”

“Yes, Pepper.”

Turning her attention from the pair Skye’s eyes darted about the room looking for Lucky, the damn dog was quick she’d give him that and almost as adept as hiding as Clint himself was, it wasn’t until she saw the briefest glimpse of Bucky’s metallic arm pulling a tray down behind the breakfast counter that she got a clue as to where her new blond boy might have disappeared to.

Crossing to the counter on her still bare feet Skye inched around the corner and stopped dead in her tracks, the sight before her was seriously adorable and _totally_ unexpected. Bucky sat with his back to the counter his dark hair hanging loosely about his face as he held out his metallic hand towards Lucky offering a large slice of ham.

“James! Don’t feed him too much of that, dogs shouldn’t really eat human food in mass quantities,” Jemma suddenly said from behind Skye as she watched the scene before her; she saw Bucky tense before he turned his head. Those gorgeous blue eyes Jemma could easily get lost in peered up through his mess of dark hair with a hang dog expression that almost identically matched that of the actual dog beside him. Sighing softly she continued “Alright, he can have meat, but only meat and not too much. I’m going to have to research what dogs can and can’t have, I don’t quite recall mot of it off the top of my head, but I gather Lucky is going to wind up very spoiled and likely very fat if we don’t keep a close eye on his diet.”

“That’s ok if Bucky over feeds him; he can just take Lucky running with him and Steve each morning, though probably not on their full fifteen miles,” Skye chimed in before nudging Jemma lightly before continuing “Let’s leave these two to bond.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time seemed to fly once Tony decided the alcohol needed to be flowing freely, which had coincidentally been directly _after_ everyone had eaten. Skye had mentioned to Jemma in passing about the earlier conversation with Clint and now she suddenly found herself isolated in the kitchenette with the other women while the guys were all sprawled around the living room drinking and chatting.

“Are you pregnant, Skye?”

Jemma’s prim voice yanked Skye out of her own head and had her blinking as she looked between the questioning faces of May, Jemma, Bobbi, Pepper and Natasha, shaking her head Skye eventually squeaked “No. I don’t think Clint brought it up cause he’s expecting it to happen right away, I think he just wanted to know my thoughts on the idea and then Lucky is like a trial run I guess?”

Natasha was smirking. Skye eyed her for a moment before saying; “Please don’t wear that expression, Natasha. It makes me nervous. What do you know that I don’t?”

“It’s just, I’ve never seen Clint like this before,” the redhead admitted. “And the only word I can come up with for it is _nesting_. The Hawk’s building his little nest.”

Skye was almost positive her stomach just dropped all the way to one of Tony’s sub-basements, her eyes darted quickly between the other women before returning to Natasha. Opening her mouth to speak Skye soon snapped it shut when she couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

She was so consumed with her own thoughts that Skye wasn’t even aware of the fact Clint was now standing behind her, at least not until his lips brushed the side of her neck as his arms curled around her waist.

“Ladies, if you don’t mind I’m going to steal Skye away, I still have a surprise for her.”

Blinking, she looked to Natasha who was pointedly looking at Skye with what she was learning was the red-heads _I told you so_ look; she’d previously only seen that look directed at Tony.

However the moment Skye saw Natasha’s bright red lips curve upwards into a smirk she already knew whatever was about to come was likely going to be embarrassing to somebody.

“Really, Clint? You can’t even keep your mind out of your pants for _one_ night?”

Skye knew Natasha’s teasing was meant to be light hearted fun, though it didn’t escape her notice when Clint’s entire demeanour changed as she felt his body go ramrod stiff against her back at the same time his arms tightened firmly about her waist.

“Natasha, _zatknis’_.” Skye growled quietly moments before turning in Clint’s arms to face him, bringing one hand up she cupped his cheek as her mouth curved into a warm smile. “Clint, relax, she’s teasing……I think,” she whispered to him soothingly.

Bracing her hands against Clint’s abs Skye pushed at him as she started to walk, forcing him to start walking backwards, looking up into Clint’s blue-grey eyes Skye wasn’t entirely sure what exactly was going through his head currently.

Once in the elevator and the doors were sliding closed Skye slipped her arms around Clint’s waist and tilted her head up to brush a kiss against his jaw before whispering “Thank you for this, you’re the first person who’s ever done something like this for me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stretching his arms up to lock his hands back behind his head Ward kicked his feet up onto the table and watched as Trickshot worked his way through the targets set up at the far end of the building.

“So, tell me how exactly you’re planning to grab my soulmate and that brainy little bitch of a best friend of hers from our trap?” Ward asked as yet another of Trickshot’s arrows embedded dead center of the target.

“Well if you’re a hundred percent certain they’ll be together in that research lab to get the data, it’ll be easy enough for me to nail them both with tranquilizer darts,” swinging his bow up over his shoulder Barney crossed the room to the targets and began retrieving his arrows, sparing a glance back over his shoulder as he continued “so if this slip of a girl is _your_ soulmate, then what’s she doing with my brother?”

“Coulson and his people have obviously brainwashed her, they don’t _approve_ of my chosen path and he and May consider her like a daughter. They obviously deem Barton a better fit and are using her as payment for his loyalty,” Ward spat venomously.

Crossing the room back to the table Barney arched one brow curiously, between the venomous tone and quick response he got a strange feeling that he wasn’t being told everything.

On the other hand, Ward was paying him. Very well. In both money and the opportunity to finally get a bit of his own back on his sanctimonious prick of a brother. Barney Barton didn’t approve of separating soulmates. And if this Skye girl was Ward’s and if taking her would hurt Clint – well, Barney would probably have done it even without the money.


	20. Taken

Several hours ago Skye had awoken to not only bright sunlight flooding Clint’s bedroom but to the dual snoring forms of her new dog and still partially restrained lover, thankfully Lucky was snoring at the foot of the bed and Skye hadn’t wanted to focus too closely on _how_ exactly the dog had gotten back onto Clint’s floor.

After last nights foray into kink, for which Skye mentally made a note to thank Natasha for altering Clint’s headboard with securing points, God only knows how she had done that, the last thing she wanted to think of had been the possibility of Jemma overhearing what had been going on.

Sliding into Clint’s side Skye had reached up to unfasten the leather cuff from around his wrist as he’d stirred, and guided his arm down and over his stomach. Skye had rubbed gently at his wrist as weary blue-grey eyes had tried to focus on her.

When Clint had fully woken, which had also been about the same time he’d realised that there was a dead weight in the form of a sleeping Labrador on his legs, Skye had learnt of yet another birthday surprise from Clint. He’d informed her that this one he’d actually made for her, by hand, before passing her a wooden box. Upon opening the box Skye had found nestled inside on red velvet two bracelets made of bound brown leather and stainless steel, the plate on the top had two hearts pierced by a single arrow intricately carved into it.

During breakfast Skye, Jemma and Fitz had gotten talking about Lucky, who had been quite happily sitting beside Bucky with his head on the man’s lap getting fed toast, they’d decided to go spend the morning in Central Park since it was a nice day and had even agreed to have a picnic lunch.

Jemma had immediately set to work on making her famous sandwiches, she’d even made extras for Clint and Bucky, who’d been collared by Steve and sternly told they’d been slacking off in their training. Grumbling about Captain Slavedriver, the two headed reluctantly for the range.

As the small group were about to leave the foyer of the Tower, they were joined by Bobbi and Hunter, both in exceptionally good moods, joking and laughing.

Skye was currently helping Fitz set up the picnic while Jemma was playing Frisbee with Lucky, they’d lost Bobbi and Hunter to the hot dog cart a little ways away, the last thing they’d heard was the pair bickering over which was better, ketchup or mustard.

Looking up as Jemma rushed over to them slightly breathless, Skye arched one brow as she leant to the side to look around her friend, Lucky was nowhere in sight which had a frown forming as she looked up at Jemma.

“Skye, I’m so sorry, Lucky took off into the bushes after the Frisbee and wouldn’t come back when I called him,” Jemma huffed out rapidly before sucking in a sudden breath.

“Jemma calm down and breathe, come and show me where he went and we’ll see if we can find him. Fitz, you stay here so Bobbi and Hunter don’t think we took off without them,” Skye said as she pushed herself to her feet, Fitz was already nodding his head as he unwrapped one of Jemma’s famous sandwiches.

Following Jemma to where she last saw Lucky, Skye quickly swept her eyes over the area trying to catch sight of Lucky’s golden fur, turning to Jemma she asked “Which way did you see him going?”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been pure luck that Ward had been showing Barney the Tower in which his targets were residing just as the two women had exited along with three other people and a dog. They’d managed to follow them easily enough without drawing attention, the small group seeming more focused on each other than their overall surroundings.

The fact the group had picked a semi-secluded spot for their picnic gave them an advantage, Barney had picked a spot within a brushy area nearby for him and Ward to set up. He was just loading the first dart into his tranquilizer gun when he heard the bushes rustling; he’d looked up in time to see the group’s dog come barrelling through the bushes.

In his peripheral vision Barney saw Ward’s sidearm come into view, turning quickly he grabbed at Ward’s wrist and snarled “Don’t shoot the damn dog you idiot, you’ll give us away.”

Pushing Ward’s arm down Barney shook his head; he’d thought the other man a professional but apparently when it came to his soulmate he was behaving like a fucking amateur. The dog disappeared further into the brush across from them, shortly after it vanished from sight his two targets came into sight.

He waited and watched as the two women separated to go in different directions, Ward’s soulmate going in the direction the dog had gone as her friend went the opposite way. Taking aim at the paler brunette Barney waited for the perfect shot, when he was certain she would fall without injuring herself he took his shot, as she collapsed he quickly loaded in the next dart and without hesitation rose and took aim at the other woman and squeezed the trigger.

His dart lodged in her neck and to Barney’s surprise she reached up to pull the dart free as she took a step forward, the dose should have knocked her out just as quickly as it did her friend but it took a good minute or two before her knees eventually buckled and she hit the ground. Out cold.

“Make yourself useful and grab one of them, it’s time for us to get the hell out of here before the others come looking,” Barney shot at Ward as he slid the tranq gun into the waistband of his jeans beneath his jacket.

It wasn’t all that surprising to Barney that Ward went straight to his unconscious soulmate, so he moved to the paler brunette, crouching down he used a napkin from his jacket pocket to pull the dart from her neck. Sliding one arm under her neck and the other under her knees Barney lifted her easily and turned to follow Ward back the way they came.

Thankfully one of Ward’s lackeys was waiting for them with the van running and the side door open; stepping in after Ward Barney laid the unconscious woman he’d been carrying down by the other as Ward slid the door shut. Sitting back he closed his eyes and began his mental preparations for his brother’s eventual arrival.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Fitz looked up suddenly from his almost finished sandwich as a loud bark sounded at his feet, blue eyes widening slightly as Lucky barked again before grabbing onto the leg of his pants and tugging with a low growl. Shaking his leg free of Lucky’s mouth Fitz looked around for Jemma and Skye, when he saw no sign of them he looked back to the dog getting more anxious at his feet. Standing up Fitz turned hastily and caught sight of Bobbi and Hunter headed in his direction, when they stopped by him he gestured to Lucky at his feet “He…They….”

His words were failing him and he frowned in frustration, Fitz counted in his head and did his best to focus on what he was trying to get across “Lucky…he’s worried? I…I think something is wrong, Jemma and Skye….they went to find him and now he’s here and they’re not.”

“Fitz, calm down, we’ll find them. Do you remember which way they went?” Bobbi said calmly as she reached out to place a reassuring hand on Fitz’s shoulder.

When Fitz bolted off in the direction he’d last seen the girls heading with Lucky a fraction ahead of him Bobbi nodded to Hunter, both were already drawing their guns as they ran after the clueless pair; their finely honed instincts for trouble kicking in.

From what Bobbi could see Lucky was leading the way; of course the dog would be the best bet at finding Skye and Jemma, his sense of smell would be following their scent. As they stepped into the brushy secluded area her eyes fell to Fitz who was kneeling on the ground examining a dart, when Lucky started to growl, a low feral growl that had the hair on the back of her neck rising, Bobbi turned her gaze to the Labrador just as he shot off through the bushes. As she started to take off after Hunter and the dog she had the forethought to call out “Fitz, stay here.”

As she and Hunter sprinted after Lucky’s bounding form Bobbi could only assume the dog had caught Skye’s scent, as they broke into a clearing a little way ahead Bobbi caught sight of a black van. There was nothing unusual about the van at first glance, but when Bobbi looked again as it started to drive out of the park she saw a familiar face pulling the door shut. Without a second thought she took aim and opened fire at the now closed door right where Ward’s head had been, Bobbi was aware of Hunter also firing at what she assumed was the driver.

As the bullets pinged off the van without leaving so much as a scratch Bobbi heard Hunter launch into a stream of expletives, pulling her phone from the pocket of her jacket she keyed in one of her speed dials and waited for the call to connect before saying “May, find Coulson and tell him we have a huge problem.”

“Morse, you know he’s going to want more of an explanation than that, what happened?”

May’s voice drifted icily through her phone, as Bobbi turned and started back towards where they left Fitz she tugged lightly at Hunter’s wrist even as he whistled shrilly for the dog. After taking a moment to catch her breath she answered “Ward just took Skye and Jemma, Hunter and I are on our way back to collect Fitz to head back to the tower now.”

“I’ll find Coulson and we’ll meet you in the lobby, he’ll want to know what happened before Barton and Barnes find out their soulmates were taken.”

“Right, we’ll make a quick sweep of the area from where they were taken and then get back to the Tower asap,” Bobbi responded tightly. She’d never heard May sound that cold, after the call disconnected Bobbi slid her phone back into her pocket as she turned to look at Hunter. “ _This_ is very bad.”

Stepping up beside Bobbi, Hunter curled one arm around her waist and pulled her tightly into his side, brushing a kiss against her jawline as his free hand was nudged by Lucky’s wet nose he murmured “We’ll get them back love, they’re part of our rather unconventional family after all. No one messes with us and gets away unscathed.”

Glancing up at the sound of approaching footsteps Fitz blinked and screwed up his nose as Lucky licked up his cheek, spluttering and pushing the dog away he picked up his zip lock bag as his blue eyes fell upon on Bobbi and Hunter. He’d heard the echo of the gunshots and had for a split second hoped that they’d managed to find the girls, but now that he saw just the two of them Fitz found that hope crushed.

“The….They’re alive, I think…tranquiliser darts,” Fitz uttered brokenly as he waved the bag that had earlier housed his lunch towards the pair before continuing “Need to….test back at Tower? This is not my… my… Jemma, this is her,” here Fitz waved his free hand vigorously around him encompassing the area as he tried and failed to get the word he was after out.

“Analysing the darts is more Jemma’s area of expertise?” Bobbi guessed as she looked to Fitz who was nodding furiously.

“Yes, yes, I can….but will need,” Fitz frowned and snapped his fingers as he tried to get his words to come “Dr Banner’s help?”

“Fitz, I know you’re worried about them, so are we; but right now the best thing we can do is focus on the clues we have to help us find them and get them back. I’m sure Mack and Dr Banner will help you do what you need to with the darts,” Bobbi said reassuringly, it hadn’t escaped her notice that Fitz was getting more flustered and his speech was breaking worse than usual. As the younger man’s fingers of his empty hand twined in the fur of Lucky’s neck she released the breath she didn’t realise she was holding as Fitz nodded absently.

When they’d eventually returned to the tower Bobbi wasn’t at all surprised to find Coulson, May and Mack waiting for them in the lobby, it didn’t take her long at all to fill them in on what she knew happened and Fitz’s hypothesis about the darts. When they all entered the elevator Bobbi leant back against the wall with her shoulder just touching Hunter’s as her eyes moved to Mack. “Mack? Could you go with Fitz to the labs and get Dr Banner to help him analyse the darts?”

She didn’t need to say how rattled Fitz was over the situation, it was clearly evident to all of them, the young man’s hands clutching for dear life to the zip lock bag and the scruff of Lucky’s neck.

Mack nodded seriously at Bobbi, placing a reassuring hand on Fitz’s shoulder as the elevator pinged its arrival at the biolabs. Guiding the younger man out he said, “Come on Turbo, let’s get this done.”


	21. Confrontation Part One

Slowly rousing back into consciousness, the first thing Skye became aware of before even opening her eyes was that she was bound, from what she could tell she was lying flat on her back, her arms shackled above her head. Cracking her eyes open Skye lifted her head as much as was possible to study her surroundings.

The last thing she recalled was watching Jemma collapse like a sack of potatoes followed by a sudden sharp sting to the side of her neck – which when she thought back on it now was probably a tranquiliser dart – and the lights suddenly going out.

From what she could see, Skye got the feeling they were in some kind of warehouse maybe, the room she was in was small, maybe an old office that had been converted into a holding room; if she wasn’t mistaken she was chained to some form of a bed.

She didn’t miss the distinct lack of her clothing or the material of the cheap sheets scratching at the bared skin of her legs, Skye could just hear voices in the other room, one of them was definitely Jemma yelling though she couldn’t make out the words.

The final voice Skye had no clue as to who its owner was but they were right outside the door. Lowering her head back down onto the old pillow Skye feigned unconsciousness.

Tracking the quiet thud of boots through the room Skye called on every single scrap of her training to remain still and limp as the mattress dipped by her hip with the addition of extra weight. It was immensely hard to feign unconsciousness as calloused fingers – similar to but not quite identical to Clint’s – traced her face, down along her jaw to her throat.

Warm breath exhaling over her ear told Skye that whoever was sitting beside her was leaning down over her, she heard them breathe deeply by her hair before a low masculine grunt sounded and was followed by a rumbled “I know you’re awake, Princess, this act may fool the pretty boy but he ain’t here right now sweetness. It’s just you, me and your pretty little friend in the other room.”

Skye blew out a frustrated breath and snapped her eyes open turning her head slightly to look into a pair of blue-grey eyes very similar to ones she’d gotten very used to seeing, but the face and red hair definitely weren’t Clint’s. She didn’t have to ask who he meant by the pretty boy, it was pretty obvious to her he was referring to Ward.

“Great so you’re working for Ward and Cal, just fucking fabulous. Can you at least tell me if Jemma’s alright?” Skye spat venomously as she stared into those familiar yet not eyes.

 

Barney blinked at that, he hadn’t expected this mere slip of a woman to speak to him so venomously nor that she’d worry more for her friends safety than her own, he wouldn’t admit it out loud but she had almost fooled him into thinking she was still unconscious. In fact if she hadn’t blown out that frustrated breath and opened her eyes he’d planned to stop talking to and touching her.

“She’s fine Princess, don’t you worry your pretty little head. She’s a little irate at being tranquilised and bound to a chair but otherwise she’s good for now. Though I think the Doctor may have plans for her.”

“Who the hell are you, then?” Skye groused and tugged at the restraints at her wrists to test them.

“Ah don’t tell me my baby brother didn’t tell his girlfriend about me, I’m wounded.” Barney jested, holding one hand to his chest with a wry smirk.

“You’re not yet, but if you unbind me I’d be glad to oblige Charles,” Skye drawled mockingly sweetly as she realised who he had to be.

Shaking his head Barney couldn’t stop the rumbling chuckle that slipped free, his brother certainly could pick them it seemed, first the fiery Russian now this pretty little spitfire.

“It’s Barney or Trickshot, Princess. Good to know Clint’s still recounting our tragic tale to those who’ll listen.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leaning against the back of the elevator Hunter took in the expressions currently plastered upon Coulson, May and Bobbi’s faces, he figured now was as good a time as any to address the dilemma currently before them, preferably before they found themselves surrounded by Avengers.

"So, out of curiosity, who's going to be the one to tell Barton and Barnes that we lost their soulmates?"

At the deafening silence in the elevator he looked to Bobbi, his beloved if somewhat infuriating soulmate, as she raised both brows questioningly.

"Right then, guess it's up to me. Bobbi, love, can I count on you to back me up?"

"Well your ass is mine, so I'm not letting you face them alone," Bobbi said quietly as she stepped in closer to Hunter and slid her arm around his waist.

"Appreciate the support love, even though I'm pretty sure it has more to do with you making sure Barton and Barnes don't break something vital."

Slinging his arm round Bobbi's waist Hunter made his way out of the elevator onto the common floor, his boots thudding heavily with his exhaustion to announce their arrival. He'd learnt the hard way not to sneak up on Bobbi, especially given she'd dropped him like a log with a well placed blow to his groin that one time she’d not heard him coming. He couldn’t imagine that sneaking up on any one of the Avengers would end in any _less_ painful way than that.

It was Barton he saw moving first, the archer swinging himself over the back of the couch to move hurriedly towards him and Bobbi with Barnes not far behind. Bobbi's light squeeze of reassurance was welcome as he watched confusion spread across the faces of both men before him.

"Ok, there really is no easy way to say this so I'm just going to throw it out there and hope you both don't kill me. We lost Skye and Jemma, before you both jump to the wrong conclusion we're sure they're both still alive. It's likely Ward had them taken and Jemma was probably an insurance policy to get Skye to play nicely."

"What!"

Hunter blinked at the simultaneous response from both men before glancing to Bobbi, he could tell by her sudden slight switch in demeanour and body language she was on alert, her gaze alertly flicking between the two snipers.

"There was no blood and we found darts, Fitz is certain they were taken nonlethally and he’s going to make use of Stark's labs to analyze the chemicals. They are both strong, smart women, they'll keep their heads."

Bobbi's tone was calm and quiet, however when Barton arched one brow Hunter watched Bobbi blink and cock her head to one side with a wry smirk before speaking again.

"Well, Jemma will keep her head, Skye will probably try to pull some form of Bartonesque bone headed manoeuvre to get them out of there, that being said she's smart enough to pick the appropriate time and place that won't risk their lives."

"Regardless of what Coulson and May decide, mates you can rely on Bobbi and me to help get them back. God help me but both those women are like the little sisters I never had," Hunter put in impulsively. The expression on Barton’s face was nothing short of terrifying, though the cold rage he could almost feel coming off Barnes in waves was possibly even scarier.

Clint felt his hands clenching as he glared at Hunter, though Bobbi’s subtle movement towards the gun holstered at her thigh made him force himself to relax and re-evaluate the situation, he could almost _feel_ Bucky seething beside him.

Turning to the other man Clint settled one hand onto Bucky’s shoulder in a reassuring gesture; he felt the tension in Bucky ease almost instantly as he spoke “We’ll find them Buck, Bobbi’s right, they’re both smart and will look out for each other.”

His attention turned from Bucky then, his icy eyes settling on the mixed teams, Coulson’s team looked as though they’d just been put through the wringer so he looked to Natasha and all but growled “Find them.”

Clint watched as Natasha and Stark both rushed from the room already tossing ideas back and forth between them of where to start looking, as his gaze moved from their retreating backs he cast a brief glance at Coulson and May who Steve had just moved to and were talking quietly with.

“You two should go get some rest,” Clint said quietly to Bobbi and Hunter, though his gaze now remained on Bucky, he could see the fear clearly in his friend’s piercing blue eyes and knew intimately the thoughts that were likely rushing through his head, they were the exact same ones he was currently trying _not_ to let overwhelm him.

“Come on Buck, let’s go hit the range. I think we could both do with letting off some steam right now. We can’t do anything for the girls _yet_ , not until we find them and then, well then we make those who were responsible for taking them _pay_.”

Just by looking at Bucky, Clint could tell the Winter Soldier was loitering very close to the surface, the taut set of Bucky’s mouth and furious clicking of the inner workings of his metal arm and the quiet grind of his metal fingers fisting tightly gave him away. Bucky was sitting precariously close to the edge of exploding and Clint knew that was the last thing anyone would want happening in the confines of the tower, Steve would likely be the only one capable of stopping him if that happened.

Thankfully JARVIS expressed the lift to the range and soon they were both settled in their respective places shooting the targets, Clint with his bow and Bucky alternating between his sniper rifle, pistol and sub machine gun.

Clint was starting to worry when two hours had passed in deathly silence, with the exception of the occasional bursts of gun fire. He was concerned that Bucky was withdrawing from the outside world and slipping back into the mask he’d worn for so long, so of course Clint started slightly when Bucky’s voiced sounded from behind him.

“If they’ve hurt her Clint, I’m going to kill _all_ of them.”

“Can’t fault you for that train of thought, my friend. I don’t even like the idea of anyone else _touching_ Skye let alone the thought of someone hurting her. All I ask of you though is you leave that bastard Ward for me to deal with, he’s done too much to _my_ girl for me to let him die by anyone else’s hands.”

“Give me a face to go with the name and I’ll make sure he stays alive for you to take care of, Clint.” Bucky said flatly.

The icy tone to Bucky’s voice made Clint wince and he suddenly felt just the slightest bit sorry for the morons stupid enough to take their soulmates, slinging his bow over his shoulder he turned to face Bucky, dropping his hand heavily on his flesh shoulder as he spoke.

“Buck, don’t lose yourself to the Soldier, Jemma will need _you_ at the end of this, not that murderous asshole. Don’t get me wrong I whole heartedly approve of you using the Soldier’s methods and skills to get us to the girls, but if your mind slips back into the recesses of your head that’s not going to end well. It’s not that I think you’ll hurt Jemma physically in that mindset, in fact if anything I think the Soldier would be seriously over protective of her, but emotionally is a whole other kettle of fish.”

Bucky took a slow, deep breath. Lifted his metal hand up in front of him and stared at it, dislike plain on his face. “Keep reminding me of who I am,” he said abruptly to Clint. “You’re right. Jemma doesn’t want the Soldier.”

“You might be wrong about that, I suspect she’ll be seriously happy to see any version of you that might turn up,” Clint said with a small smile. “But I think she’ll _need_ Bucky.” He squeezed Bucky’s shoulder gently. “Come on. Let’s go get some food. Make sure we’re fuelled up when the time comes to go kick ass.”

 

 


	22. Confrontation Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Advanced Warning here Ward got seriously fucking creepy on me in the beginning here so there is definitely some dubious consent here with what he did. So figured I needed to warn you guys before hand.
> 
> Please don't kill me it's all my muses fault and it seemed a good way for Barney and Skye to have a heart to heart.

_Three days._ Three extremely long and tiring days she and Jemma had been kept in the dingy, dark, rundown warehouse, in fact the only reason Skye _knew_ it’d been three days is because Barney would stick his head in the door and say _Good Morning, Princess_ , that alone was giving her a reason to seriously dislike Clint’s big brother…..well there was also the thing of him working for her father and Ward too.

For a kidnapper though Barney was seriously chatty, he’d spent a lot of time with her and Jemma in the old office sharing wild tales about his and Clint’s youth in the circus. Skye didn’t miss the occasional glimpses of pain and regret she’d seen flash in those familiar eyes. She even found herself laughing a few times, because Barney had charm in spades and the same wicked sense of humour as Clint.

Truthfully she preferred those times with Barney, at least he wasn’t ogling her or fondling her like Ward would do during his _visits_ , his latest visit he’d dragged a chair close by the bed and had sat down, unfastened his jeans, took his hard cock in hand and jerked himself off in front of her.

Skye had been helpless to do anything but watch, Ward had seen to that when he’d propped God only knows what behind her body to force her onto her side, Skye had had to look into those cold, dark menacing eyes as he licked his lips before his gaze had salaciously travelled along her body.

When he came with her name a sickly moan on his lips Skye had felt nothing but revulsion, her skin crawling with disgust as he came all over her neck and chest, before departing Ward had given her a bruising kiss which she’d turned around by biting hard into his lower lip. She’d managed to draw blood which she had then spat at his stomach, Skye’s efforts had then rewarded her with a solid blow to the side of her head that had her seeing stars before passing out.

Rousing back into consciousness Skye was aware of a sudden chill in the room that was soon replaced by something warm brushing across her chest, blinking her eyes open slowly the first thing she saw was red hair and blue-grey eyes, involuntarily Skye tensed as she became aware of her surroundings and the fact that Barney’s hand was swiping something warm and damp along her _bare_ chest.

“Easy Princess, pretty boy gave you a pretty good knock to your head. I was gonna bring your friend in to check you out when I realised he knocked you out cold but then I saw the mess he left on you and figured it’d be wiser to clean you up first.”

To his credit Skye noticed Barney’s eyes never moved from her face even as he was cleaning her with the warm wash cloth, nor when he began to gently dry her with the towel.

“No man should treat his soulmate like this,” Barney muttered beneath his breath as he dropped the towel to join the wash cloth on the floor, picking up one of his t-shirts he eased it carefully over Skye’s head first before reaching to unclasp the clip of one restraint from the bed head to guide her arm into the shirt and reclasping the restraint to the frame before repeating it with her other arm.

“Wait, what? What did you just say?”

Looking at Skye, Barney saw the furrow in her brow to match the confusion in her tone, arching one brow upwards in curiosity as he tugged his shirt the rest of the way down over her chest.

“You heard me, Princess.”

“Did you call that creepy, stalker wackadoo my soulmate? Ward’s not my soulmate, _Clint_ is,” Skye said crisply.

Barney blinked as Skye’s tone of voice went from annoyed to proud in a split second, inwardly he flinched and found himself doubting what was actually going on here, Ward had told him Skye was _his_ soulmate and had been brainwashed by SHIELD and handed over to Clint as a reward for his service, but she seemed proud of the fact that she was _Clint’s_ soulmate; in fact she seemed very adamant that she was _Clint’s_ , not Ward’s other half.

“That’s not what the pretty boy told me, Princess.”

“Well he lied, he does that. He thinks I’m his property, his _toy_ ,” Skye spat venomously.

“And how do I know _you’re_ telling me the truth, Princess?”

“Because I am, if you don’t believe me then check my soulmark. I assume you know what your brother’s handwriting looks like?”

Barney just stood there staring at her. His face pale. “You’re Clint’s soulmate. Seriously? This isn’t a trick?”

Skye started to shake her head but then stopped quickly as her head began to throb; biting her lower lip she silently counted to three to let the throb ease before she spoke. “No trick, tricking you wouldn’t do much more than get me and Jemma into more trouble. My mark is on my right inner thigh starting at my knee.”

As she watched Barney reach for the sheet Skye would swear she could see his hand shaking, between that and the way his face had just paled she got the impression she’d just thrown his perfectly ordered world off kilter and spinning out into the depths of space.

When a calloused finger brushed lightly over the beginning of the scrawl of her mark by her knee Skye was then startled by Barney’s sudden cursing, she tried her best to see his face but in the end gave up as the strain on her neck only caused more throbbing to bloom within her head.

“Ah fuck, Princess, Clint’s gonna kill me for this. Especially given the fact he was there for me when I lost _my_ soulmate.”

“Ok, I think there’s a story behind that needs to be shared?” Skye asked quietly, she blinked suddenly as the mattress dipped and Barney’s head was suddenly resting against her outstretched arm as he sprawled on his side beside her, staring up at the ceiling.

“I met my soulmate in the circus, the first time we met I was thirteen, Carly was eleven, same as Clint. The moment she said my words I was smitten and Clint, the cheeky little bastard he was, could see it and ribbed me something shocking. Things were great for years, I asked her to marry me on the night of her seventeenth birthday, she said yes so we began planning to leave, the three of us, myself, Clint and Carly.”

Shifting slightly on the mattress Skye turned her head to study Barney’s face, his eyes were clenched shut, much in the same way Clint did when he was recalling and speaking of something bad that had happened to him and she suddenly felt her heart sink into her stomach like a stone in a lake.

“We never found out what exactly happened to Carly, some of the carnies found her on the outskirts of the circus severely beaten, clothes shredded, she was barely conscious when they found her and in no fit state to talk. Her mom was the healer of the troupe, she did what she could but it wasn’t enough, Carly died in the early hours of the morning, just as the sun was coming up, curled up between me and Clint.”

Skye couldn’t prevent the soft cry of anguish that slipped free, no one should have to lose a loved one like that, and she took a stab in the dark that perhaps that incident was the beginning of the falling out between Clint and Barney.

“She had the same dark hair and eyes you do, though her body was a little more curvaceous. I went off the rails after that, started drinking more and more, almost turned into our dad; but Clint tried to help me stay on the level and I almost took his head off for it. Clint was nearly killed when he found out one of our mentors was stealing from the circus so once he recovered I decided to leave to join the Army, asked Clint to come with me but he never showed up at the bus depot.”

“Wait, I think Clint mentioned that. He told me he did go but when he got to the depot the bus was already leaving. He did end up joining up to try and find you, but said none of his superior officers would answer his requests for your location.”

“He won’t forgive me for taking you from him, Princess, especially not to give you to the pretty boy.”

“I’m not so sure about that. He’d understand Ward tricking you, Clint _knows_ that’s what the bastard does best. I think he would forgive you, it might just take a little time.” Skye said quietly.

“Ward’s in the process of starting his big plan to lure Clint in, he’s gonna attempt to lure the Avengers and your team into a large former HYDRA base with a number of HYDRA soldiers before then contacting Clint to lure him here.” Barney lifted a hand, pinched at the bridge of his nose in a gesture that was awfully familiar to Skye. “Fuck, fuck _fuck_. How does everything I touch go to absolute _shit_? I’ve fucked up big this time.”

“Barney,” Skye said quietly, trying to snap him out of the obvious spiral of self-blame he was sinking into. “You can help fix this. You didn’t know what was really happening. If you help me, and Jemma – Clint would forgive you anything. Especially considering what happened to Carly.”

“Did he tell you that I blamed him?” Barney said after a long moment of silence. “He was supposed to be with her that afternoon. Helping her with the horses – that was what she did, she was a horseback acrobat. But he sloped off to go shoot arrows. For years I blamed him. Swore if ever he found his soulmate I’d make sure he lost her, too.”

Skye froze with terror. Couldn’t make a sound come out. But then Barney turned his head to look at her.

“But it wasn’t Clint’s fault. I just blamed him because I couldn’t bear to accept the fact that it was _my_ fault. That _I_ should have been helping her, not slacking off and drinking beer with a couple of buddies which was what I was actually doing, trusting my kid brother to keep an eye on my girl.”

Barney sat up, swinging his legs off the edge of the bed. “You’re right, Skye. At the very least I owe Clint an apology, and though I might not ever get close enough to give it without him putting an arrow in my eye, maybe you’ll be kind enough to deliver it for me. Let’s get you out of here.” He reached for her restraints.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After his little bit of _stress relief_ with Skye earlier, Ward had gone to put his and Cal’s plan into action, they’d arranged an appropriate distraction for Coulson’s team and the Avengers by anonymously leaking intel to a HYDRA staging area that was prepping for an attack that was due to occur at the same time as they were supposedly prepping to move Skye and Simmons.

The more he thought about the more the plan seemed logical, precise, it’d mean if they were lucky only Barton and that _bitch_ Romanoff would show up, he was strolling through the larger area his dark gaze pausing briefly as Cal was talking animatedly at Simmons a scalpel waving very close to her face with each exaggerated motion of Cal’s hand.

As a sudden explosion rocked the building Ward found his wicked grin falling suddenly from his face as he crossed to Cal and Simmons before growling “They shouldn’t be here yet.”

When gunfire began echoing through the warehouse Ward’s brow furrowed further as Simmons started laughing, why on earth the petite scientist was laughing so hard that tears were forming at the corner of her eyes was beyond him. He also hadn’t expected her back to straighten nor for her to stare at them as her laughter ceased and she spat “I told you my soulmate would come for me. You two are in SO MUCH TROUBLE right now.”

“Stay with her, I’ll go back and stay with Trickshot and Sk….Daisy.” Ward flinched at the glare from Cal at his near slip up on Skye’s name, turning he sprinted for the door into the smaller room where they’d been keeping Skye secured.

He suspected Barton was in there, hell he’d known the older Barton had been spending a lot of time talking to both Skye and Simmons though he’d never known about what, hadn’t really cared to be honest as it had kept both women on their best behaviour until Skye’s earlier episode.

As Ward opened the door he turned in time to see two men clad in dark attire enter into the larger room from the far side entryway, backing into the room Ward closed the door and inwardly cursed at the lack of lock. Drawing his gun as he turned to walk further into the room he pulled up short his gaze locked on Trickshot, the other man was preoccupied unfastening Skye’s restraints.

“What the hell are you doing, don’t let her out!” Ward snarled as he levelled his gun at Trickshot, he noticed the other man tense and stall before rising to his feet and turning to face Ward.

“You fucking liar, she’s not your soulmate, she’s my brother’s!” Barney spat acidly as his cold gaze locked onto Ward and his gun.

Ward froze at that revelation, one thought began rattling around inside his warped mind _Skye is MINE, not Barton’s!_ a quick glance at Trickshot and the surroundings revealed the archer had left his customary bow and quiver well out of his reach. He wasn’t going to stand by with this betrayal, wasn’t going to allow Trickshot to release Skye, with a menacing grin Ward squeezed the trigger of his sidearm thrice in quick succession.


	23. Confrontation Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies to anyone who was offended by the events in the previous chapter. I in no way, shape or form condone any form of sexual assault or violence. Skye will start the healing process of the events of the previous chapter in the next chapter that will be going up directly after this one. From what I've seen in Agents of Shield Skye is not one to break down at the drop of a hat. In Providence after she admitted her feelings for Ward and kissed him then finding her friend Koenig dead she took all of five second to have a mini breakdown before getting back in the game to play along with Ward and bide time for Coulson and Co to find them, same with her father she tried to play his feelings for her to her advantage to get out of the situation in San Juan.

_Manip made for me by Ozhawk._

Clint had known putting Tasha and Stark on the hunt for Skye had been a good idea, between them and May and Morse’s intel on Ward and HYDRA they had narrowed the possibilities down to two, they’d already planned and had been prepping to hit both bases when an anonymous tip had alerted them to a potential HYDRA assault.

It’d been Morse who surmised that Ward and Zabo wouldn’t be keeping the girls in a facility filled with HYDRA soldiers, so the Avengers and Coulson’s team had elected to go deal with the potential assault force which had left him and Bucky to head to the second location.

They’d lucked out as shortly after arriving to stake out the location they’d seen Ward making his way back into the area and had trailed him right to the warehouse he and Zabo were hauled up in. Before he’d been able to open his mouth to suggest to Bucky they head up to high ground to get a layout of bodies there was a sudden explosion as Bucky fired off one of the explosive canisters from the grenade launcher of his machine gun.

“Subtlety really isn’t your strong suit is it, Buck?” Clint groaned as he pulled his collapsed bow from the holster on his thigh and with a flick of his wrist snapped the bow open and nocked an arrow to follow Bucky in through what used to be the doors.

“There’s a time and place for everything Clint, but when our girls are being held by psychos that’s definitely _not_ the time or place for anything subtle,” Bucky threw back casually with a sardonic grin.

They worked their way through the thugs guarding the lower level with surprising ease, Clint allowing Bucky to take the lead up the narrow staircase and along the walkway, as they were approaching the door two more guards emerged from the shadows Clint rapidly sent two arrows flying across the distance to embed silently in their hearts.

“See? Silent. Subtle. That’s how you do it,” Clint grinned back at Bucky as he stepped over the fallen bodies.

Ignoring the pointed roll of Bucky’s eyes as he threw open the door Clint followed the taller sniper through the door, a cursory glance of the room had Clint registering Zabo as he pulled a bound Jemma from the chair to use as a shield, Ward half way through a doorway and three more guards dispersed about the room.

There was no way known Clint could miss the way Bucky tensed, even as subtle as it was the inner workings of his metallic arm grinding would have been a dead give away, patting Bucky on the shoulder he said quietly “He’s all yours man, I’m going after Ward, after I deal with these three.”

As he strode across the room nocking an arrow Clint sent it flying into the first guard before repeating the process twice more, as he stopped at the door the guards were dropping to the floor.

It was as he was reaching for the door knob that Clint _felt_ the familiar tremor of Skye’s abilities moments before three gunshots in quick succession sounded from behind the door, his heart stalled momentarily as his breath caught and his hand fell from the doorknob.

Pulling himself back together, Clint reached back to his quiver to pull free an arrow, nocking it and drawing the bowstring as he took a step back Clint then raised one booted foot and swiftly kicked the door open, manoeuvring into the room Clint swept his gaze across the room it stalled briefly on the tipped over bed frame.

Movement in his peripheral vision jerked Clint back into awareness, he was just turning to loose his arrow as Skye’s cry of _No!_ echoed through the room, it was as though time stood still as his arrow flew towards a toppling Ward who had fired a shot.

The sudden burning sensation in his upper left arm told him Ward’s shot had hit, obviously having gone wide from its intended target as Skye had seemingly thrown Ward’s balance and aim out. Ducking behind one of the pillars Clint shook his left arm as he glanced over to the bed frame, when he caught sight of Skye peeking around the edge he felt a sudden surge of relief as he called out “You alright, Skye?”

“She’s mine! You can’t have her, Barton.” Ward snarled from behind a pillar on the other side of the room.

“Oh for Christ’s sake, I should have shot you in the fucking _head_ in San Juan,” Skye spat venomously in Ward’s direction before looking back to Clint “I’m fine, your brother….well he’s not so good.”

“My bro…..wait, Barney’s _here_? Skye, did he hurt you?”

“Clint, focus please. Right now the bigger threat and the person ultimately responsible is across the room, so how about we deal with _him_ before your brother bleeds out over here for trying to help Jemma and I.”

“Now, Skye, don’t make me kill both brothers and Simmons in front of you to get you to behave yourself,” Ward drawled mockingly.

“Yeah, good luck with that you whack job, cause I damn well guarantee if Clint’s here for me, then Jemma’s soulmate is here for her. Somehow I doubt you’ll get through the Winter Soldier to lay a finger on Jemma.” Skye snapped brusquely.

The sudden burst of curses from across the room had Clint’s mouth curving with amusement, when the curses suddenly stopped he chanced a glance from behind the pillar and caught motion in the shadows, reaching back for an arrow he nocked it effortlessly.

When a gunshot pinged from the metal bed frame near Skye’s head, Clint let loose his arrow before Ward could get another shot off, as it embedded in Ward’s right wrist and his gun clattered to the floor Clint moved out from behind the pole.

As he crossed the distance between them Clint nocked and let loose a further three arrows, the first grazed just above Ward’s left knee, the second embedded in the concrete directly in front of one of his feet, the last nicked the skin of Ward’s throat.

Skye had meanwhile been busy ripping the sheet to create makeshift bandages over Barney’s gun shot wounds, the first two had been minor scrapes, it was the last that concerned her, it just wouldn’t stop bleeding and Skye was worried the bullet might have nicked something vital.

The sudden grunts and pained groans had Skye looking up over the bed frame, she tried _really_ hard not to wince as Clint was using his bow to pummel Ward, while the bastard truly deserved it she couldn’t deny it _hurt_ her to watch Clint lash out with unbridled rage.

Turning her attention back to Barney, Skye dropped both her hands to press down firmly on the heavily bleeding wound in Barney’s abdomen, he was starting to go pale and was beginning to shake. He was losing far too much blood for her liking so Skye did the only thing she could currently think to do and called out “Clint? I think I need your help over here. I’m having trouble stopping one of Barney’s wounds from bleeding.”

Skye saw _something_ fly over the over turned bed frame in her peripheral vision, a heavy thud and pained groan had her temporarily lifting her head to see Ward lying out cold at the base of a pillar. Clint’s hand settling on her shoulder caused Skye to jerk briefly, glancing up to Clint’s face she was pretty sure there were unshed tears welling in her eyes, which was confirmed as Clint’s face shifted from stone cold to concerned as he dropped beside her his focus now on Barney.

“Buck, when you’re able to, get Jemma in here _fast_ , I think we’re going to need her medical expertise.”

Shifting slightly to let Clint in beside Barney, Skye distracted herself by grabbing a short strip of the sheet she’d shredded and began to bind his bleeding arm as he focused on trying to stem Barney’s blood loss.

“I’m so sorry Clint, I tried to throw Ward’s aim out. If I’d been quicker maybe this wouldn’t have happened,” Skye mumbled as she dropped her head to rest against his shoulder.

“Don’t blame yourself, Beautiful; I imagine Barney would be in worse shape if you _hadn’t_ thrown out Ward’s aim even a little bit. Hell, he probably owes you his life or would if I wasn’t planning on killing him myself after getting answers.”

Frowning against Clint’s shoulder at that statement Skye had been about to say something when a pained grunt from their left caught her attention, reaching out Skye drew Clint’s sidearm from the holster on his left thigh flicking the safety off and aiming it at Ward in one swift, effortless motion.

“Ah there’s my girl, May did a wonderful job getting you over your gun dilemmas.”

“You know, I’m getting real sick at having to point out that I’m not _yours_!” Skye snapped, in her peripheral vision she saw Clint’s bow rise.

“Never yours,” a low voice husked; Skye glanced down startled to see that Barney was conscious. “My brother’s…” and somehow he’d managed to draw his own gun. “I’m sorry, Clint,” he whispered, and with the last of his strength, squeezed the trigger twice before his eyes closed.

Skye watched with a tiny bit of horror as Ward’s body slumped to the floor with a hole through his larynx and another between his eyes, turning her gaze suddenly back to Barney’s now unconscious form as Clint growled “Fucking hell Barney, what the hell was that?”

“I don’t think he can hear you Clint.” Skye murmured as she reholstered his side arm and then shouted “Jemma, we need you in here _now_.”

The light thud of Jemma’s boots followed by heavier thuds Skye guessed was Bucky hot on her heels had her looking up as Jemma rounded the bed, arching one brow upwards as she looked at her friend. Jemma was looking a little rumpled, her clothing slightly askew and her lips swollen. Glancing at Bucky, Skye shook her head and muttered “I don’t want to know.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During the flight back to the Tower on the Quinjet Skye had fought back her emotions, the joy and horror of Ward’s death, the relief and revulsion of Cal’s death – Bucky had really done a number on Cal and it hadn’t escaped Skye’s notice that there had been numerous deep cuts on her father’s body and half his head was missing – to the fear and worry over Barney.

Skye had sent out a coded message to Coulson and the Avengers requesting them to fall back, stating that they’d need Bruce’s assistance with a critical injury. The moment they had landed Clint had unfastened his restraints and all but stormed from the jet. Silently following Bucky, who was carrying Barney, and Jemma to the medical floor. Skye was left trying to work out not only where Clint would go but why he was so angry.

Once Jemma and Bruce had Barney in surgery, Skye snuck away from the group and into one of the main recovery rooms, she took the opportunity to get herself cleaned up and changed into a pair of surgical scrubs. Sitting on the bed Skye took the chance to allow herself a minor breakdown over what had occurred in the past couple of days.

When Skye eventually exited the room it was just as Jemma was coming out of the operating suite with news, once she’d heard Barney was going to be alright Skye tapped Natasha’s arm to get her attention before moving away from the group.

“Natasha, where would Clint go to calm down?”

Natasha cocked her head slightly in what Skye thought might be thoughtful contemplation, for a minute Skye wondered if Natasha even knew or would even tell her until she finally heard the other woman’s quiet murmur “He’ll likely be in his nest. It’s his hideaway that he goes to when he needs to escape, he locks the only entry to it from the inside when he’s out there so I’ll get Sam to give you a ride.”

 


	24. Nest

Within minutes Skye found herself clinging to Sam as he launched them off Stark’s landing pad. She’d forced her eyes shut, normally she loved flying when in the safe confines of the quinjet or the Bus, this however was an entirely different sensation. Only when her bare feet touched back down on cool metal did Skye crack one eye open, Sam’s quiet laughter drifting past her ear moments before he let her go and took flight again.

Bracing herself against the interior side of the metal A Skye turned to take in the space, it was approximately eight foot wide by five foot deep, stepping off the edging she blinked a couple of times to allow her eyes to adjust to the dim light as she called “Clint?”

“Skye, what are you doing out here?”

“Looking for you, and apparently discovering I’m not a big fan of flying outside of vehicles. Little help here, where _are_ you?”

Keeping one hand against the smooth metal Skye extended her other hand out and down as she slowly moved deeper into Clint’s nest, which she’d honestly consider more like a cave. Skye heard Clint’s sudden huff and stopped she closed her eyes and focused, when she heard Clint’s slow even breaths she moved quietly towards them, crouching down till she was crawling Skye moved her hand along the metal till it brushed against Clint’s boot.

Eventually settling beside Clint, Skye pulled her knees to her chest and let her head rest back against the wall. “You’re upset with me for being out here?”

The silence that answered her was almost deafening to Skye and was also unsettling; she had no way of contacting Sam to come back and get her and doubted that Clint would easily reveal the entrance to his _nest_ , so she was effectively now stuck here.

“Jemma said Barney’s going to be alright. I know you probably don’t want to hear this Clint, but even though Barney was hired by Ward to deal with you he never hurt Jemma and I. Obviously discounting the tranq darts, he didn’t know what was going on, Ward lied to him.”

“You don’t know him Skye, not like I do. Barney lives to torment me, ever since…..” Clint trailed off and fell silent again so Skye decided to pick up that thread.

“Ever since Carly died?”

Clint’s sudden sharp intake of breath had Skye turning her head in the direction of the sound, reaching across Skye fumbled blindly till her hand settled against one of Clint’s forearms.

“When Barney found out I was your soulmate he started panicking, was sure you’d never forgive him for taking away your soulmate after you were there when he lost his. He told me about Carly, he still seems heartbroken about losing her and to top it all off he lost the last of his family too. I know you two have a bad past Clint, but Barney was trying to free me when Ward arrived. He wants to apologise for everything Clint, but he’s so afraid that you’re going to put him down like a rabid dog without letting him speak even a word.”

Figuring it best to allow Clint a few moments to process through what she’d just said Skye slipped her hand free of his arm, rising to her feet she moved carefully back to the opening where Sam had dropped her off and looked out over what she could see of the illuminated city.

She never heard him move, but after a few moments a strong arm curled around her waist and he drew her back a little way.

“Don’t stand so close to the edge,” Clint murmured quietly in her ear.

“Yes, Mr I-Nest-Up-Here,” Skye responded tartly.

“Well, I’d be shattered, absolutely shattered if you fell to your death,” Clint retorted teasingly.

“You know, if you keep being a gigantic ass _I_ might just shatter something of yours,” Skye huffed softly before turning in Clint’s arm, wrapping her arms around his waist Skye turned her head to rest her cheek against Clint’s chest over his heart.

Bringing his free arm around Skye’s shoulders Clint couldn’t help chuckling at her threat, he suspected she was probably capable of pulling it off, not only with her training from May but probably using her ability as well with some focus. Dropping his head Clint nuzzled into Skye’s hair, brushing kisses against the top of her head, it was a reassuring comfort he hadn’t known he needed, simply holding her against him like this.

“I missed holding you like this, well honestly I think I just missed you,” Skye mumbled into Clint’s chest.

"I missed you too Skye. I barely slept the past three days, Bucky and I spent a lot of time either in the shooting range or sitting in the common lounge planning," Clint rumbled against her hair. He hesitated before asking; "Skye, I have to know, did they hurt you? Ward, Zabo or Barney?"

"Cal no, yes he was a psycho but he was still my father. Barney _hell_ no, in fact he went out of his way earlier to clean me up," Skye said softly.

It didn't escape his notice that Skye completely avoided mentioning Ward, turning them Clint guided Skye up against his chest. Moving his arm from her shoulders he slipped his fingers under her chin to tilt her head back so she was looking up at him.

"What about Ward, Skye?"

Studying her face Clint watched silently as Skye began chewing on her lower lip, her eyes were darting to look anywhere but at his face. He'd noticed the bruise forming on her temple so knew for certain that _one_ of them had struck her recently.

"Ward hit me in the head. He ahh, masturbated in front of me, came all over me and then kissed me. I bit down on his lip hard enough to draw blood and spat it back at him so he struck me in the side of the head hard enough to knock me out. When I came to Barney had removed my top and was cleaning me up before he brought Jemma in to check my head," Skye admitted nervously as her whole body shuddered.

Clint growled at that revelation; while he was suddenly _very_ glad that Ward was dead he regretted the fact that _he_ hadn’t been the one to kill him.

"Is that _all_ he did to you? I know you probably don't want to talk about this Skye, but I need to know for both our sakes. I can't help you through this if I don't know what the son of a bitch did to you, Beautiful."

“Clint, stop thinking the worst, Ward didn’t do any of the things I’m sure you’re thinking of, which we probably have Barney to thank for that. He spent a lot of time each day with Jemma and I in that room telling as incredible stories and that was _before_ he found out I was your soulmate,” Skye offered a reassuring smile as her arms hugged tighter around Clint’s waist.

After a few minutes of cuddling into Clint silently, Skye sighed. “Clint – I’m not going to pretend it wasn’t horrible and distressing. It’ll take me a long time to forget the look on Ward’s face, but I know realistically it could have been so much worse. I honestly don’t know what held him back – perhaps he sensed that if he tried to rape me, I would have just snapped and unleashed my power with no regards of the consequences. But he didn’t, and the fact that Barney had to clean me up led to me realising that Ward had lied to him, had told him that I was Ward’s soulmate. Once I told him I was _your_ soulmate, everything changed.”

Wrapping both arms around Skye, Clint hugged her tightly, dropping his head to brush a kiss against the top of her head, he was content to hold her like this for several long minutes before he eventually murmured “Whatever you need Skye, I’m here for you.”

“Think you could just hold me, like this for a while? I kinda want to just feel safe and protected, as weird as that may sound.” Skye mumbled quietly.

Clint started to walk backwards deeper into his _nest,_ guiding Skye along with him, when he’d claimed this spot within the center of the A on the side of the Tower Stark had laughed at him, Steve had given him a strange look before letting it drop, Bruce and Pepper had looked concerned albeit briefly, the only one who’d truly understood his need for the bolt hole was Natasha.

So colour him surprised the next time he’d emerged from the hatch to find Natasha there shoving a single bed mattress up against one of the walls off to the side of the hatch with the reasoning of _I know how you get, figured you should at least be comfortable_.

“Will you rest with me? Here?” Clint asked quietly as he stopped beside the mattress.

“You sleep out here?” Skye asked quizzically.

“Sometimes, mostly when I need to get away from everything or _everyone_. The only other person I’ve ever allowed out here is Tasha but I don’t mind you being out here with me.”

Skye’s silence was making Clint feel more than a little vulnerable and given he’d backed them into the darkened recess of his nest he could no longer read the emotions on her face. When her arms slipped from his waist Clint tried to steel himself for the refusal he was sure would be coming, instead he found her hands cupping his cheeks moments before her lips brushed across his tentatively.

“I’d love to; we both could probably use the rest anyways. Maybe later, when we wake, if you feel up to it we could visit your brother?”

Dropping down to his knees on the mattress Clint pulled Skye along with him, toppling them both sideways Clint settled with his back against the wall and head on the pillow as he tugged Skye into his chest, her body fitting perfectly against him with her head tucked under his chin.

They laid there for God only knows how long, silent and clinging to each other in the dim lighting as though both their lives depended on it. Clint knew the moment Skye fell asleep as her quiet breathing evened out, burying his face into her hair with a soft sigh it wasn’t long before he followed her into slumber.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Skye woke it was to the dim light of dawn streaming in through the opening, snuggling into Clint his steady breathing told her he was still sleeping, though she soon discovered when he shifted in his sleep that there was at least one part of Clint that _definitely_ wasn’t sleeping as his constrained erection pressed against her stomach.

Slipping one hand up beneath the hem of Clint’s t-shirt Skye contented herself with idly tracing his scars, she let her eyes slip shut as she re-familiarised herself with the varied scars. Skye heard the change in Clint’s breathing signalling he was awake moments before his large hand curled about her forearm. “Morning sleepy head.”

“Morning. You know if you keep doing that I’m not going to be held responsible for my actions,” Clint rumbled sleepily.

“Hmm, well you started it technically by pressing your morning erection into my stomach in your sleep, buster,” Skye teased in a breathy whisper.

Skye couldn’t contain the soft laugh that slipped free as she suddenly found herself on her back pinned to the narrow mattress by Clint’s body, his warm breath blowing across her ear making her shiver. Her hand that had been tracing Clint’s scars slid around to settle against his lower back beneath the material of his shirt as her other came up to ruffle his hair.

“You can’t hold me responsible for what my body does while I’m asleep, that being said I’ve been without you for three _days_ so my body has a mind of its own,” Clint growled huskily before dropping his head to nip and suck against Skye’s neck.

Shifting beneath Clint, Skye slipped her legs out from beneath the muscular press of Clint’s body and curled them around his, her fingers tangled in his short hair as the palm of her other hand pressed against his lower back, an embarrassing mewl escaping her as his mouth sucked on her throat.

“I’m not complaining,” Skye mumbled, her head turning to give Clint better access to her throat, as his calloused fingers glided along her sides beneath the scrubs top Skye shivered at the jolt of pleasure that coursed along her nerves.

When Clint’s large hands closed over her breasts Skye instinctively arched her back pressing into his hands, his low rumble of laughter against her throat vibrated through her until he finally murmured “No, you definitely are not. Skye, as much as I hate to say this, we need to stop.”

Despite his words it didn’t escape Skye’s notice that Clint in fact _didn’t_ stop, his hands gently kneading her breasts as his thumbs brushed over her nipples, bunching her hands in the back of his t-shirt Skye began tugging it up till Clint reluctantly released her breasts and pushed himself back onto his knees.

“No, we don’t,” Skye grumbled as she sat up, her arms crossing at her midsection as she grabbed the hem of the scrubs top and dragged it up and over her head, after dropping it to one side she eased back, bracing her elbows on the mattress. She wanted this, wanted Clint’s gentle touch to wipe away the stain she still felt from Ward’s revolting attentions even though the first thing she’d done on getting back to her room was scrub every inch of her skin down thoroughly in the shower.

As Clint groaned and dragged his t-shirt over his head Skye chuckled softly, lifting one bare foot she settled it against Clint’s bare chest before tauntingly dragging it down over his stomach, following the thin trail of hair from his navel down to where it disappeared beneath the waistband of his cargo pants.

Her foot had barely brushed over the sizeable bulge at the front of Clint’s cargo pants before he was batting it away lightly, in the next instant he was hunched over her, fastening his mouth onto Skye’s and kissing her hungrily.

The kiss rapidly turned from hungry to heated, a war of tongues with the occasional clash of teeth that drew a primal growl from his throat, Clint eased back from the kiss as he slid his hands beneath the waistband of the pants at Skye’s hips. He didn’t need to ask her if she was sure, he could see the hunger in her eyes, the faint flush on her skin.

Clint made quick work divesting both of them of their pants and was far from unwilling when Skye pulled him down over her, she had one hand curled around the nape of his neck guiding his head down to hers so she could capture his mouth as the nails of her other raked across his ribs.

If asked Clint would have admitted to being content simply having the skin to skin contact while languidly kissing Skye, not that he wouldn’t be just as content with more, with his weight braced on his arms as he focused his attention solely on the kiss Clint almost missed Skye shifting slightly beneath him.

Pulling back from the kiss as Skye hooked one of her legs around his waist Clint shifted so that the tip of his hard length brushed her slick entrance, locking his eyes on Skye’s dark chocolate ones Clint drove into her welcoming body with one firm thrust.

They fell into a fast, frantic rhythm that told Clint neither of them was going to last long; it was more a sheer need within both of them to re-establish their connection, their closeness to each other. They both toppled simultaneously over the precipice into mind blowing bliss, Skye’s inner muscles clamping down around him tightly as Clint sank deep, emptying his release deep within her in spurt after hot spurt, he collapsed on top of her nuzzling against her neck as they both rode out their climaxes and the after shocks rippling through them.

His mind in a blissful haze Clint vaguely heard Skye mumble something against his throat, but she’d been so quiet it had been virtually impossible for him to make out what she’d said. Slipping his arms beneath Skye’s back, Clint held her tight against him as he rolled to reposition them on the mattress so he was on the bottom.

“What was that, Skye?” Clint murmured quietly as he kept one arm wrapped around her lower back, his free arm lifting so he could brush her hair back out of her face.

“I love you, Clint. I’ve not said that to anyone before.” Skye whispered.

Skye’s words stunned him into silence and Clint found himself simply staring into her eyes, the sudden vulnerability that appeared in her eyes as she worried her lower lip told Clint he needed to say something, “My beautiful girl, you have no idea how much I’ve wanted to hear you say that. I love you too, Skye. I always have, even before I _knew_ you and I always will.”


	25. Family Therapy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've heeded the requests for Jemma/Bucky's reunion scene and since I can't quite get them into my head just yet it may wind up as a bonus scene at the end if I can ever get it written. Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter but I kind of forgot I hadn't posted with stress from work among other things.

Skye hadn’t left Clint’s side since they’d left his nest, it wasn’t so much that she was _afraid_ to leave his side, more so that she simply didn’t _want_ to. Which was why they’d spent a good three quarters of an hour in the shower together, not only getting clean but also just re-familiarising themselves with each other.

Sitting on the couch Skye buried her nose into the collar of Clint’s bathrobe that she was currently bundled in, the aroma of bacon and eggs wafting from the kitchen had her stomach growling loudly. Pushing off the couch she shuffled on bare feet into the kitchen, her mouth curving into a frown as her gaze drifted around, stepping up behind Clint where he stood at the stove she slipped her arms around his waist while asking “Where’s Lucky?”

“Hmm, I think he’s still staying with Fitz. Fitz didn’t take your disappearance well at all and wouldn’t let Lucky out of his sight,” Clint replied as he settled one hand over the top of both of Skye’s.

“Poor boys,” she mumbled against Clint’s shoulder blade just as her stomach once again voiced its annoyance over being empty.

“Skye, can you grab the plates off the counter for me?” Clint managed to get out between chuckles as Skye mumbled softly against his shoulder before moving away, he hadn’t expected the loud grumble her stomach had made. “So I’m thinking after we’ve eaten that maybe we should go pay a visit to the bane of my existence?”

Setting the plates down beside the cooktop Skye glared at Clint as she reached up to smack the back of his head lightly, grumbling, “Be nice, your brother was like my guardian angel, Clint. God only knows what Ward would have done to me if Barney wasn’t around.”

She shuddered involuntarily at the thought, before she could even push the unwanted thought out of her head Skye found herself wrapped in Clint’s arms and pulled against his bare chest as he murmured into her hair “Don’t do that to yourself, Skye.”

“I know, but it just popped in there,” Skye blinked as she suddenly felt Clint’s chest shuddering moments before his low rumble of laughter sounded.

“He was hardly the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, sweetheart,” letting Skye go he turned back to dish up the food, grabbing the plates he turned to find Skye still standing there staring at him strangely, so he clarified “Reference from _Ghostbusters_.”

“Huh?” Skye blinked, still confused by the comment as she took one of the offered plates from him , moving to take a seat at the breakfast counter.

“It’s a movie, made in 1984,” Clint set his plate down by Skye’s before pulling his stool closer to her and sitting down beside her.

“Yeah, you do know that was before I was born? Plus being in the foster system didn’t allow me much of an opportunity to watch movies.”

Watching as Skye tucked into her breakfast he was reminded oddly of Steve and Bucky and their ravenous appetites, settling one hand on her bared thigh he picked up a piece of his toast and bit into it, waiting until after he’d swallowed to answer, “Right, we need to make a list of movies you _need_ to see. Even Steve and Bucky have seen both _Ghostbusters_ movies.”

“Okay, being more behind on films than Steve and Bucky is bad, I’ll admit to that, maybe we could make it like a group thing occasionally?” Skye mumbled around a mouthful of eggs.

Shaking his head with a chuckle Clint dug into his own breakfast, he was about half way through when from the corner of his eye he saw Skye snag a piece of his toast. He gave a gentle squeeze to her thigh as he swallowed his mouthful of eggs before grumbling “You know if you’d have asked I would have let you have the toast.”

Smacking Clint’s hand lightly off her thigh Skye slipped off the stool, stepped in closer to him and draped an arm around his shoulder as she leant in to whisper “It wouldn’t have been as daring though.”

Placing a quick kiss on Clint’s cheek Skye headed off towards the bedroom to get changed, she made quick work of pulling on her leggings beneath the robe before shedding it to pull on a sports bra. She was busy rifling through one of Clint’s drawers when his hands settled on her waist as he dropped his chin onto her shoulder. “So, can I borrow one of your shirts?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ten minutes later Skye stood in the hallway of the medical floor, her arms crossed over Clint’s t-shirt that swam on her small frame, her eyes locked on Clint. He was stalled by the door to Barney’s room, hand midway to the door handle as indecision warred on his face.

Stepping between Clint and the door Skye reached up to curl one hand around the back of his neck, pulling gently she urged Clint’s head down till their foreheads touched and she was looking directly into his stormy eyes as she whispered “How long has it been since you two last saw each other, or even spoke without trying to kill each other?”

“Twenty years, give or take. Last time we spoke civilly was the day Carly…..” Clint trailed off there and Skye really didn’t need him to finish the sentence to know what day he was referring to.

“It’s okay Clint, we don’t need to speak about that. Barney told me what happened back then and how close the three of you were. Losing someone like that…well I’ve never really been through something like that but I imagine it wasn’t easy for either of you.”

“You could say that, sweetheart, we both dealt with our grief differently and it wound up with Barney trying to rip my head off. I’m not sure I _can_ ever forgive him for what he did back then, nor for his part in taking you.”

Blowing out an annoyed breath Skye smacked Clint lightly in the back of the head, shaking her head she stepped away from Barney’s door and whirled to face Clint, pointing one finger at him. “That wasn’t his fault Clint, Ward lied to him. You didn’t see his reaction when he found out I was _your_ soulmate, he was gutted.”

Dropping her hand Skye closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, she didn’t want to fight with Clint, especially not about something that happened when she wasn’t around. Opening her eyes she moved back to Clint, wrapping her arms around his waist she hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry, it’s just, he’s your only family, Clint. All I ever wanted growing up was a proper family and it never happened so it hurts me to see you two like this.”

“You’ve got plenty of family now sweetheart, you’ve got your team, and mine has all but adopted you as their baby sister, but most importantly you’ve got me.” Clint rumbled while nuzzling into Skye’s soft, silky hair.

“And by extension a brother recovering from a near death experience in the next room. So put on your big boy pants Barton, and get your sexy ass through that door,” Skye added in while poking a finger into Clint’s ribs before extricating herself from his hold to turn towards the door, curling her hand around the door handle she wrenched it open and glided into the room with a bright smile.

As the door creaked open Barney glanced up from the paper he was reading, Jemma had brought it when she’d stopped by earlier to check on him, he blinked slowly as Skye waltzed into the room with a bright smile and spring to her step while his brother stood awkwardly in the hallway as though debating whether or not to flee.

“Hey Princess, you’re looking cheery today. Knucklehead out there been looking after you?” Barney grumbled huskily, he’d kill for something more to drink than water to ease the dryness and terrible taste in his mouth.

“Charlie, you’re lucky I think of you as a brother otherwise I’d be shaking your ass for _that_ damn nickname,” Skye groused as she flung herself onto his chest carefully to hug him, Barney noted that she’d done her best to avoid putting pressure on his injuries.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders to hug her back Barney did his best _not_ to laugh at the mock look of disgust she’d worn as he used the nickname, as it was he failed miserably and wound up chuckling against Skye’s temple even as his eyes flicked over the top of her head to meet Clint’s as he quipped, “Were you born in a barn Clinton Francis, get your ass in here and close the damn door.”

“Clinton Francis?” Skye twisted in Barney’s hold as she shuffled her butt onto the bed beside Barney, her wide brown eyes glinting curiously at Clint.

“Barney,” Clint growled warningly even as his brother smirked and opened his mouth.

“You didn’t know his full name Princess?” Barney grunted as Skye jabbed her elbow lightly into his ribs.

“God you two are both such trolls,” Skye mock sighed as she flung one arm over her eyes, her actions receiving dual chuckles.

“How is it you haven’t made her part of the family _officially_ yet Clint?” Barney asked incredulously as his eyes dropped meaningfully to Skye’s left hand before flicking back to meet his brother’s.

“Hadn’t had a chance to get round to even contemplate asking before she was abducted,” Clint retorted as he looked pointedly at his brother.

Skye blinked dazedly up at Barney before glancing to Clint; surely she’d misheard that. Blinking slowly she knew she should probably say something and opened her mouth, yet all that came out was a low “Uhm.”

“Now look what you did Barney, you shocked her senseless,” Clint groused with a half hearted glare at his brother.

“Clint, you’re a grown ass man and know just as well as I do how short life can be. Do you _really_ want to risk losing her like I lost Carly?” Barney said quietly even as his arm tightened around Skye who was mumbling incoherently to herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye wasn’t sure when she’d fallen asleep or even for how long, or had she passed out? The last thing she vaguely recalled was visiting Barney with Clint, pulling on May’s training she tried to take in her surroundings without opening her eyes. Keeping her breathing steady she focused on her senses, the faint sterile smell told her she was still on the medical floor.

She was aware of the low murmur of male voices from above her head, though she couldn’t tell what was being said as she was pretty sure they were speaking in Italian. Skye was wedged between two muscular forms; the one behind her she knew without a doubt was Clint, his calloused hand a now familiar sensation resting beneath his shirt on her stomach.

Which meant the muscular form in front of her was Barney, she wasn’t sure how exactly they were all fitting on the single bed but it probably had something to do with them being sandwiched as they were. Skye was doing her best to ignore the warm breath on the back of her neck; she was doing remarkably well in her opinion right up until Clint murmured right against her ear “We know you’re awake.”

“Then maybe you both should have stopped talking in another language sooner,” Skye muttered quietly before forcing her eyes open to look up at Barney’s grinning face. “Why do you look like the cat that ate the canary?”

“I find it just a little funny that Clint and I fell out over the death of a curvaceous brunette and it took a stubborn slip of a brunette to bring us back together.”

“Actually it took you abducting said stubborn slip of a brunette,” Clint started to say before Skye shut him up with a growled,

“Clinton Francis, drop it.”

Barney’s eyes darted to Clint and the scowl forming on his face had him hastily saying, “Chill little brother, I’m not looking to share your soulmate. She just reminds me of Carly a little and I’d like to be her friend, if she’ll have me?” Watching Clint blink slowly at the words as the scowl fell from his face Barney dropped his gaze back down to Skye.

“Well, you kinda don’t have a choice in the matter Charlie, whether I like you or not you’re family and family has to stick together. Also can someone please enlighten me as to _why_ I’m the meat in a Barton sandwich?”

“You’re our comfort buffer, sweetheart.” Clint said simply by her ear as though that made everything clear, all it did was have Skye frowning at Barney in confusion.

“We both felt more comfortable talking to each other with you between us, conscious or not,” Barney clarified hoping his comment made sense to Skye.

“It’s still a little awkward, cause I really could have done without being semi-intimately aware of my,” Skye stalled here, she really had no idea how to refer to Clint. Simply calling him her soulmate was starting to feel just a little impersonal and she didn’t know what Clint thought about being referred to as her boyfriend or lover, in the end she continued with “of Clint’s brother. Oh we so need to find you a girlfriend Barney.”

“How about Sif? She could keep him in line.” Clint chirped, a little too enthusiastically.

“So could May.” Skye shot back rapidly as she tried to turn her head to look at Clint.

“Whoa, hold up you two. How about you leave trying to set me up until I’m out of the damned hospital bed and instead focus on your own partnership, relationship, love affair, whatever the damn hell it is you two are currently doing,” Barney snapped irritably.

“He has a point, Clint. _What_ are we doing? I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, I’m just curious. Are we dating, lovers, friends with benefits or _other_?” Skye asked so quietly she barely heard her own voice.

“All of the above?” Clint hedged, until he found himself looking into the angry slate eyes of his brother at the same moment Skye sighed quietly and started trying to slip free from her confinement. “Honestly sweetheart, I suck with this whole relationship/dating thing and would you even _want_ to make an honest man out of me?”

Skye was in the process of scrambling over Clint when he’d asked that, and seriously what kind of question was that? Was it a proposal, was she supposed to take it as Clint asking her if she’d ever want to marry him? Unable to move with her weight braced precariously on her right hand and knee on the edge of the mattress Skye stared into Clint’s mesmerising, beautiful blue-grey eyes. Licking at her suddenly dry lips she whispered “Yes? I mean I would if that’s what you wanted and was that even a question I was meant to answer? Hell Clint, we haven’t even bonded yet and I so don’t even know _what_ to feel about that. Especially with Jemma telling me last night she could feel Bucky through their bond over the past three days.”

“Um,” Barney said, “much though I’m actually peculiarly emotionally invested in seeing you two not fuck this up, this really might be a conversation the two of you want to have without an audience?”

Two heads snapped around to gaze at him, and he grinned, realising they’d both forgotten he was there. “Alternatively, please allow me to referee. And translate.”

“Translate?” Skye said, puzzled.

“Translate dumbass-Barton-speak for you, Skye. What Clint is trying to say, I believe, is that he’s fucking crazy about you but he’s so damned insecure he’s convinced you wouldn’t want him long-term. Hence his leaving you the escape route of not bonding with you.”

Skye blinked. Looked back at Clint, lying underneath her. “Is that true?”

He tried to look anywhere but at her. “Um. Maybe?”

“And Clint,” Barney butted in again while Skye was still trying to think of what to say to that, “I’ve talked to Skye enough over the last few days to get a pretty decent read on her, I’d like to think. And I’m guessing that you have absolutely no idea that she has such major abandonment issues that she thinks you haven’t asked to bond with her yet because you’re leaving _yourself_ an escape route.”

“What? No!” Clint exclaimed, looking at Skye. “Is that true?”

Still poised awkwardly above him, she tried to scramble off, but his strong hands on her waist stopped her. “Yeah,” Skye admitted awkwardly after a moment.

Barney rolled his eyes. “What a pair. Clearly I’d better stick around to make sure you two don’t fuck this up completely.”


	26. Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay between being sick, recovering, work and the whole StarHawkCat threesome I've been all over the shop. Also the final chapter has been giving me serious issues with writers block.

As they left the impromptu therapy session Skye suddenly felt a little ashamed of herself for not having admitted to Clint her fears of him leaving, he was after all the one being in all of existence that God, the Fates or whatever higher power decided such things had determined was hers.

So was it really any wonder that she’d had self doubts when they hadn’t bonded? In the back of her mind her thoughts had dwelled on the solitary thought of if her own soulmate didn’t want to be bound to her did she truly deserve him, or was she simply as big a monster as her father, simply hidden in a pretty package.

The elevator ride back to Clint’s floor was eerily silent, though Skye was aware of Clint’s eyes on her, even as their fingers twined and twitched nervously. She didn’t look however, her eyes never once moving off her feet, when the doors dinged quietly and opened she exited on auto pilot.

Intending to head to the living area and put something mindless on the TV so that she could ponder the recent revelations, Skye soon found her motion halted as she was gently spun and backed against the wall. Clint’s whole body effectively pinning her in place as two of his fingers hooked beneath her chin to tilt her head up to meet his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice was low and soft.

“It’s not something I like to admit, Clint! I guess I got so used to everyone leaving me throughout my life I started pre-emptively waiting for it to happen.”

“Skye, these past couple of days nearly killed me; to think I could have lost you and I realise now how big of a mistake on my part it was _not_ to complete our bond. If I’d had the balls to do it sooner we probably could have found you quicker and I’d like to rectify that _now_ if you’ll have me?” Clint growled quietly as he dipped his head to brush a kiss against her cheek.

“You want to bond with me? Now?” Skye squeaked in disbelief as she looked to Clint with wide eyes, even as he huffed out a low chuckle and hummed.

“I do, and I’m going to take a page out of Bucky’s playbook here because you’re my girl. My _best_ girl,” Clint said with a boyish grin.

“I better be your _only_ girl buster, I have no qualms about getting Natasha and May to hunt you down if you begin wandering,” Skye quipped with a slight grin that turned into a full blown smile as Clint’s husky laugh filled the silence.

“Sweetheart, as terrifying as the threat of Natasha and May _are_ it isn’t needed. You’re the only woman I want in my heart or my bed.”

“I guess you’d better take me to your bed and complete our bond then,” Skye murmured as she reached up to wrap her arms around Clint’s neck.

“ _Our_ bed, and yes ma’am,” Clint growled before crashing his mouth down on Skye’s, his hands dropping down to cup her ass and lift her from the floor, with her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms round his neck he made his way blindly to their room without breaking the kiss.

Skye was more than a little dazed several minutes later when Clint finally settled her on the bed and pulled back in order to pull his shirt off and discard it, sitting up she pulled off her borrowed shirt. She was aware of Clint rifling through his night table, when he finally straightened Skye caught sight of the soft leather and wool lined restraints in his hands and the wicked grin curving his delectable mouth.

Shaking her head with a soft laugh she held her arms out so he could wrap each cuff around her wrists and fasten them as she whispered “I’m not even going to ask what’s going on in that mind of yours.”

“Trust me sweetheart, I promise you’ll enjoy it,” he rumbled while repositioning her on the bed. Skye couldn’t help the shiver that wracked her body as Clint’s calloused fingers grazed along her ribs. As his fingers eased beneath the band of her sports bra Skye sucked in a shallow breath at the combined sensation as Clint’s warm breath tickled her ear as he continued, “You do still trust me, don’t you?”

His fingers inching higher and drawing up her sports bra really had Skye in no fit state to verbally answer; instead she moaned quietly as his lips brushed her neck, her arms coming up willingly as the material of her bra bunched atop her breasts. She _had_ expected the bra to be pulled off and hastily discarded, so when the bunched material he was sliding up over her arms stopped across her eyes Skye was caught completely off guard.

Opening her mouth to question him Skye soon found her mouth otherwise occupied as Clint’s settled back over hers, his tongue sweeping in between her parted lips to tangle with her own. Clint’s hands continued their glide up her arms even as his body pressed her backwards onto the mattress and pillows, as he pulled back from the kiss Skye heard the soft clink of the restraints being locked into place on the headboard.

When Clint’s weight suddenly lifted off her Skye whimpered quietly and the only way she knew he was still there was the steady fall of his breath against her cheek, at least until he started to kiss and nip his way along her jawbone. She was pretty sure if she’d been standing her knees would have just buckled, especially when he ran his tongue down the length of her neck to her sternum.

She knew from past experience that everything felt heightened when she was blindfolded, but this felt different, more erotic and intimate than anything she’d felt previously. Arching her back Skye gnawed on her lower lip to contain her embarrassing mewls as Clint began to kiss his way along her sternum, his laughter suddenly vibrating against her chest had those very noises slipping free unbidden.

By the time Clint had reached her stomach Skye was squirming restlessly, the sounds she was making new to even her own ears, Clint’s strong hands suddenly closed on her hips stilling her as he nipped sharply at her navel. Letting out a startled yelp at the sharp bite Skye tried to roll, however her efforts were hindered by not only Clint’s grip on her hips but the weight of his body pinning her lower body.

“No you don’t, Skye. If you want me to stop you need to use your safewords,” Clint rumbled quietly as he looked up the length of her body to her face. The way she was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth told him she was thinking very carefully about whether or not she actually wanted to do that.

“Please don’t,” she whimpered, it sounded pathetic even to her own ears and Clint’s husky amused laugh didn’t help matters any, nor did the languid licks he began stroking over the stinging spot at her navel. Clenching her hands Skye jerked against the restraints as Clint dipped and swirled his tongue into her navel, gasping, “ _Oh_.”

One minute she was being overwhelmed by sensations and in the next she felt Clint’s weight move off her, followed soon after by the barely audible slap of his bare feet on the floor, frowning she called “Clint?”

“I’ll be right back.”

“I swear to god Barton, if this is some kind of cruel torture I’m so out of here,” Skye growled irritably as she tugged at the restraints in frustration.

A minute later his deep laugh sounded from she assumed the doorway, gradually moving closer until she heard something land heavily on the night table to her right as the mattress dipped and he spoke “Sweetheart, I doubt you’re going anywhere just yet.”

The cheeky bastard unfortunately had a point, she was currently tied up with no hope of going anywhere, unless she focused her ability on the shackles which she _really_ didn’t want to do. She heard something rustling slightly and it was while she was trying to figure out what exactly he was doing that something cool and damp touched her lips before venturing down over her chin.

Licking the trace of moisture from her lips it didn’t take her long to realise it was ice, especially as it cleared the hollow of her throat and started down along her sternum following Clint’s earlier path. As the ice was skimming along her ribs Skye wriggled as Clint’s fingers brushed along her skin at the waistband of her leggings, eventually the ice moved from her heated skin as Clint ordered “Up.”

Digging her feet into the mattress Skye lifted her hips, a low moan slipped from her throat as Clint’s mouth settled back over her navel to drop the ice at the same moment his hands slipped under the waistband at the back of her leggings to grab her ass.

Her head was spinning by the time Clint’s mouth was once again exploring the scars on her stomach, his hands working to slide her leggings down over her ass, Skye dropped heavily back onto the mattress. Clint’s head lifted from her stomach as he worked the leggings down her legs with a guttural growl “You little minx.”

Skye couldn’t help laughing softly at Clint’s growl of frustration at the discovery of her being commando under her leggings, shifting slightly Skye shivered as her laugh turning into a strangled gasp the moment Clint’s fingers traced over her soulmark. It was hard to miss the precise moment their soulmarks met, Skye sucking in a sharp breath at the tingling, burning sensation on her inner thigh.

In the back of her mind she could feel their bond forming, could almost picture the loose strands entwining together as she felt flashes of Clint’s emotions, there was the faint bitter sense of fear still buried deep in his mind that overwhelmed her but was soon drowned out by love and lust as his mouth closed over one of her nipples.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When his soulmark had first touched Skye’s the sudden tingle and burning hadn’t worried him, granted Clint heard Skye’s sharp inhale but he’d been more focused on their bond and the sudden feeling of icy loneliness that had formed in his mind and pierced his heart. He knew without a doubt it was coming from Skye, that this was the result of years of abandonment that scarred her so deeply it appeared as though it were embedded into her very depths that she’d be forever alone.

He’d pushed his fear of losing her completely from his mind, instead drawing on every ounce of his love for her and weaving it with the need burning deep within him and wrapping it like a blanket around the newly formed link tying them together. As Clint returned his focus outwards his attention was divided between teasing Skye’s nipple in his mouth and slowly dragging his hand and soulmark up along her inner thigh.

A quiet whimper had Clint lifting his head, Skye’s nipple slipping free of his mouth with a wet pop as his gaze moved to her face. Skye had her head tilted back as far as she was able, her lower lip gripped firmly between her teeth as her legs squeezed shut around his hand and forearm. Through their new bond he could _feel_ Skye’s pleasure building like a slow fire, it burned through his nerves like a living fire that had him growling.

Sliding higher up the bed Clint pressed himself tightly into Skye’s side, his head dropping so he could latch onto the delicate skin of her neck, he bit down hard enough to mar but not break the skin as he ground his groin against her hip. It took some skilful manoeuvring on his part to work his hand up between Skye’s thighs, but as she squirmed restlessly Clint managed to settle his hand against her crotch, his fingers teasing her with light strokes.

“Clint,” Skye whimpered breathlessly.

“Hmm,” he hummed against her neck before reluctantly lifting his head, his gaze drifting over her face noted the flush to her cheeks and as it drifted lower the quick rise and fall of her chest as her hips bucked up against his hand he growled, “Tell me what you want, sweetheart?”

“Your fingers, quit teasing,” Skye pleaded as she bucked against his hand again.

“If that’s what you want, who am I to deny you. You’re going to have to give me a little room to move though, Skye,” Clint chuckled at the low groan that slipped free from Skye’s throat as her head dropped back to the pillow, feeling the pressure on his hand ease Clint adjusted just enough so that his thumb could brush over her clit.

He loved watching Skye’s face when they were together, her expressions flitting freely across her face as he drove her wild, but it was an entirely different thing to _feel_ what she was feeling as he teased her to the brink. Through their bond Clint could feel Skye’s pleasure building, his own building rapidly to the point that his cargo pants felt cruelly restrictive against his growing erection.

Stroking his fingers against her folds Clint was surprised by just how wet she was; moving his thumb from where it had been teasing Skye’s clit he turned his hand and easily slid his index and middle finger between her folds and into her slick core. Skye’s soft gasp was joined by a sudden flare of heat flowing through their bond; dropping his head back to the side of Skye’s neck he tried to muffle his groan against her skin.

Crooking his fingers slightly Clint knew the precise moment he hit the small ridge of nerves hidden within Skye, not only by her strangled gasp but by the rush of bliss that flooded into him through the bond. It only took a couple of well timed and well placed thrusts of his crooked fingers to send Skye over the edge, her inner muscles clenching down firmly on his fingers and the feedback of her climax through the bond causing his hips to grind into her side.

Easing his fingers from Skye’s still quivering core Clint brought them to his mouth, licking them clean before reaching up to unclip the restraints from the headboard, turning he rolled off the bed so he could shuck his pants. As he was turning back to Skye he wasn’t surprised to see her pulling the makeshift blindfold off, her brown eyes so dark they were almost black as she beckoned to him with a crook of her finger as she purred, “We are so not done yet, _Hawkeye_.”

Diving onto the bed to land beside her with a bounce Clint couldn’t contain the wide grin that broke across his face as Skye’s laughter filled the room, rolling on top of her Clint began feathering kisses across her face. As her soft fingers closed gently around his heavy erection and gave a tentative stroke Clint groaned, he felt Skye wriggle beneath him and curl one leg over his hip.

A gentle pull of Skye’s leg had him moving forward until the tip of his cock brushed her slick entrance, he dug his hands into the bed and pushed his weight up off her looking down into her eyes as he growled “Skye, wait. I don’t have a condom on yet.”

“Clint, make love to me, please. Just like this, just us with nothing between us.”

Pushing up to his knees between Skye’s legs Clint slid his arms underneath her arms. Skye’s legs wrapped around his hips and a low rumbling growl rolled through his chest as he dropped his head to litter kisses along her throat, even as he thrust forward, easily sheathing his erection in her slick core.

Skye’s inner muscles were still quivering slightly from her recent orgasm, and the sensation of that combined with the burst of heat rolling through their bond had Clint stilling and grunting against her throat. Her short nails digging into his biceps sent a sharp jolt surging along his already raw nerves; his hands slid along her back to grip Skye’s hips and held her steady as he started to rock on his knees, his hips beginning to thrust.

It took him a little while to get a steady rhythm happening, the low keens and moans drifting from Skye shooting straight down along his spine to his balls, pulling Skye tight to his chest Clint straightened and readjusted them so that he was sitting on the bed with Skye seated in his lap.

His hands slid round from Skye’s hips and down to grab her ass as she began rocking her hips into his groin, grinding herself down to meet his thrusts. Clint groaned when Skye’s hands slid to his shoulders as she adjusted her legs and began to ride him, he hadn’t expected it but he wasn’t going to stop her if that was what she wanted.

Feeling her inner muscles clenching tightly around him Clint growled, as Skye ground down against him and threw her head back moaning his name he flipped them, pinning her beneath him. Capturing her mouth in a frenzied kiss he picked up the pace of his thrusts, driving into her, skimming his hands up along her ribs to her shoulders it wasn’t long till he joined Skye in the abyss.

Sinking deep inside her Clint came apart, breaking the kiss with a guttural growl as his seed spurted deep inside Skye, filling her with heat, collapsing on her as his body shuddered through the completion of his climax. When his senses recovered enough Clint found himself with his head resting on Skye’s chest her fingers stroking through his hair drawing a groan from him.

“Wow, that was…..”Skye’s quiet murmur trailed off, her fingers scratching lightly at his neck as she tried and failed to figure out how to finish that comment.

“Mind blowing?” Clint supplied as he lifted his head to look up at her with a warm smile.

“Yeah,” Skye admitted with a goofy grin forming.

“So, you didn’t really give me a clear answer earlier when we were visiting Barney.” Bracing his hands on the mattress Clint supported his weight and slid along Skye’s body so he was looking down into her eyes.

“Hmm? To which question exactly?” Skye blinked owlishly up at him.

“About making an honest man outta me, sweetheart. Barney was right when he said I’m fucking crazy about you Skye. I want you in my life; I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?” Clint was a little nervous, not that he’d ever admit that to anyone mind you, he wasn’t sure what Skye’s answer would be but the old saying of _nothing ventured, nothing gained_ seemed appropriate right now.

Looking down into Skye’s wide, brown eyes Clint couldn’t quite get a read on her emotions from her expression, so he turned his focus inward to their bond where he was swept with confusion that quickly turned into surprise, that just as quickly turned into anxiety before it burst into something he couldn’t quite identify.

He watched silently as she licked at her lower lip, her eyes blinking slowly as he felt the brush of her fingers at his cheeks, the silence and wait not helping his nerves any before her voice finally broke the silence. “Yes, I’m crazy about you too Clint.”

Rolling onto his back Clint pulled Skye with him, an ecstatic sigh slipping free of his lips as she settled on his chest, through their newly formed bond he could feel her contentment and happiness and for the first time in longer than he could recall he felt whole.


	27. Wedding Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay in updates but I had been trying to get Bucky and Jemma's reunion done to slot in between Bonding and this chapter. Alas best laid plans often go awry and I had no such luck so it will unfortunately have to be posted at the end of the story when those two decide to behave for me. I have one more chapter edited ready to post after this and then two more chapters to get done in order for the story to be complete.
> 
> Hopefully both pairs of soulmates will start behaving for me and I won't get too over distracted in my other stories I have in progress.

The past month had gone by in such a blur that Skye was almost a hundred percent positive if it wasn’t for the help of Pepper, Maria and Natasha that her wedding wouldn’t be happening. She’d had absolutely no idea what arranging a wedding had entailed and Jemma had been just as clueless, Skye _had_ even resorted to asking May and Bobbi. The former had reluctantly admitted her mother had organised her wedding to Andrew and the latter, well Skye had been a little stunned to find out that Bobbi and Hunter had gotten married in Vegas while drunk off their asses.

Thankfully Pepper had taken over the actual wedding preparations, Skye had helped where she could, which had consisted mostly of playing secretary to Pepper and making electronic notes. The older woman had learnt from the first meeting with Skye and Clint that they were both going to essentially be useless when it came to the preparations.

Maria thankfully, and rather surprisingly, had agreed to take over in regards to the bridal party preparations, who knew the former assistant director of SHIELD had excellent taste when it came to fashion. Though Skye had firmly put her foot down when Maria had tried to get her into some bulky, lacy concoction of a dress, she had agreed whole heartedly to Maria’s choice of white for her dress and the colours for the bridesmaid’s dresses.

That had been one of Skye’s biggest choices, who to have as a bridesmaid, in the end she’d gone with Jemma, Bobbi and Natasha with May standing in as the mother of the bride, the last she’d heard Clint had gone with Barney, Bucky and Steve as his groomsmen, not that Tony had approved and they’d had to calm the irate billionaire by agreeing to let him handle the catering and alcohol for the reception.

Skye had laughed her ass off the moment Natasha had told her of Clint reluctantly asking for her help when it came to the fashion arrangements for the guys, not that she’d told Clint she knew of the arrangement. She hadn’t really felt nervous about the whole process at all over the course of the past month, then again that could be due more to the fact that she was going through it all with Clint a steady rock by her side.

Though that rock was taken from her after breakfast the previous morning before they’d left New York, Skye wasn’t sure whose idea it was for them not to see each other for the day before _and_ of the wedding, though she’d heard Pepper and Maria say several times something about it being tradition, frankly she’d rather tradition bugger off and find someone else to torment.

Currently Skye sat in her white satin dressing gown in one of the upstairs rooms of Tony’s Malibu house, she was watching and listening to Jemma and Maria as they argued over what to do with her hair. Natasha meanwhile was busying herself with doing Skye’s makeup while Pepper was helping Bobbi with her hair. The kaleidoscope of butterflies in her stomach were getting worse and Skye knew her nervousness and anxiety were bleeding through her bond, every so often she’d _feel_ Clint’s love and reassurance curl around her like a warm blanket.

Her soft sigh at Clint’s latest touch through their bond didn’t escape Natasha’s notice as Skye soon found emerald eyes staring intently at her with one red brow arched curiously. Thankfully Natasha only offered a reassuring smile before she returned to doing Skye’s lipstick, smacking her lips gently she then repeated the process on the tissue Natasha stuck between her lips.

As Natasha picked up her eye shadow Skye automatically closed her eyes gently, listening to the quiet conversation between Pepper and Bobbi. May’s voice had joined in as the referee between Jemma and Maria, though Skye wasn’t sure when exactly her former SO had arrived back in the room.

When Natasha finally tapped her shoulder Skye opened her eyes to examine her makeup in the mirror, her lips were painted a pale shade of pink and her eyes were the best smoky eyes she’d ever seen, prompting her to ask “Nat, where’d you learn to do smoky eyes like this?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, Skye.” Natasha said as she moved behind Skye and began to run the hairbrush through Skye’s hair looking at her in the mirror.

“Try me,” Skye urged as her eyes met Natasha’s in the mirror, she saw the red-head’s hand still mid-stroke with the brush and Skye assumed she was debating her answer.

“Clint,” Natasha said casually, pulling the brush down through Skye’s hair as she cocked her head in silent contemplation before continuing, “He is a man of many talents, definitely surprised the hell out of me when on one of our first missions together he did my makeup for me.”

Staring wide-eyed at the mirror Skye honestly didn’t know what to say to or make of that particular revelation, shaking her head slightly she chuckled softly until Natasha tugged on her hair and began trialling hair styles.

“Clint prefers my hair down mostly,” Skye said quietly as Natasha was twisting her up into an elegant updo, in the mirror she saw Natasha’s lips quirk in what she assumed was amusement.

“Of course he does, how about we compromise and go half up half down?”

“That’s actually not a bad idea, it’d solve the argument between Simmons and I,” Maria stated from across the room as May popped open the bottle of champagne and began pouring.

Turning to look at the group of women by the balcony door each of whom now held a full flute of champagne, Skye glanced up at Natasha briefly before quipping “Please tell me you’re not all planning to get drunk before I even get married?”

“No, no, this is for relaxation purposes, Skye. The champagne should hopefully help settle your nerves, I know it did mine before I married Tony,” Pepper shared helpfully before bringing her glass to her lips and taking a sip.

“Right, just so you know if I get slightly drunk and end up stumbling up the makeshift aisle I’ll be holding you all responsible,” Skye tossed out casually as Jemma approached her with two glasses, taking one of the offered flutes Skye saw Natasha take the other. As Jemma moved back to the group by the balcony Skye lifted the glass to carefully take a sip, taking great care so as not to ruin her lipstick; the last thing she wanted was an irate ex-Russian assassin to deal with because she ruined her hard work.

She must have inadvertently sent some sign of irritation through the bond as Skye suddenly felt Clint’s amusement at the entire situation, sipping from the glass again Skye did her best not to give away that she and Clint were communicating through their bond.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clint was used to Skye always being around, either close by that he could see or touch her or contactable by phone, email or JARVIS, so since breakfast yesterday morning he’d been more than a little out of sorts. Granted he hid it well from the rest of his team, but he wasn’t able to hide it from his brother; on more than one occasion he’d caught Barney watching him intently.

While he’d still been able to _feel_ Skye through their bond it wasn’t the same, when he’d finally left the guys the night before to go to bed it had taken him a long time to fall asleep, in fact he’d also been pretty sure Skye had been having the same difficultly and had thought maybe they were feeding each other’s insomnia.

He had obviously dozed off at some point, but when he woke he was hardly rested and breakfast had consisted mostly of coffee at first, right up until Barney slid a plate full of food underneath his nose with a roughly growled “Eat.”

Standing on the stage set up overlooking the ocean on Tony’s deck Clint fidgeted restlessly with the hem of his suit jacket, the material felt constricting on his arms and he wanted nothing more than to peel it off and throw it aside. But he _knew_ if he did that Natasha would kick his ass from here to the middle of next week; even so _that_ fact didn’t stop his fidgeting.

In fact he didn’t stop fidgeting until Barney cuffed him upside the head, reaching up to rub his head Clint turned to glare at his brother even as Steve and Bucky _barely_ reined in their chuckles. “Was that necessary, Barney?”

“Yes, you’re going to look respectable for that girl even if it kills the both of us, Clint. Surely Skye is worth you feeling uncomfortable for a little while?” Barney gruffed as he crossed his arms over his broad chest to stare his little brother down.

Barney’s mention of Skye shut down any argument Clint had been about to make, it had been a long time since their childhood, in fact since Barney had been right about _anything_ , but he was most definitely right about Skye being worth the discomfort he felt.

“Yeah, you’re right, Barney. Hey, you have the rings, right?” Clint asked, eyeing his brother skeptically, the last thing he needed today was for Barney to have forgotten the matching polished black tungsten carbide rings he and Skye had chosen. Tony had spent the better part of last week trying to convince Clint to let him be in charge of the rings, but given the genius billionaire’s history of forgetting even the time when he was busy engineering Clint had decided Barney was the better bet.

Though he was now having second thoughts on that decision as Barney’s arms dropped slowly, his face going blank as he started patting at the pockets of his jacket. Frowning Clint crossed his arms his eyes narrowing slightly on his brother as he growled, “Barney, you better not have lost them.”

Pulling the box from the inside pocket of his jacket Barney flipped the lid open and turned the box towards Clint with a wry grin. “Relax, Clint. I was just yanking your chain.”

“Not funny, Charles,” Clint grunted in annoyance at his brother’s cruel joke, before he could say anything further though his and Skye’s song started to drift across the deck of Tony’s Malibu beach house.

When Pepper had first asked them what their song was Clint had looked blankly at the strawberry blonde before turning a questioning look onto Skye, who had been looking just as confused as he was sure he’d been. After telling Pepper they’d get back to her on that, Clint had found himself dragged off to the shooting range by Skye.

Thankfully she’d let him practise while they’d each suggested possible song options for them, when he’d emptied his quiver and returned from collecting his arrows Skye had had a list of over thirty possible songs that _could_ work for them. After she’d sent the list to JARVIS so that he could play the songs for them to hear Clint had beckoned her over, he’d figured that was as good a time as any for Skye’s first archery lesson.

It had been while he had his arms around Skye helping her to adjust her grip on the bow that a song had began that struck a chord with Clint, to him it described his relationship with Skye to a tee. He knew it wasn’t a song that he’d suggested and after asking found out it wasn’t one that Skye had added either.

Which had left them questioning for a time how the Goo Goo Dolls song _All That You Are_ had gotten into the mix, it was about then that JARVIS had chimed in, admitting to adding it into Skye’s playlist.

A sudden, sharp poke to the back of his ribs had Clint shaking himself out of his memories just as Natasha gracefully flowed past him in a striking emerald dress that matched her eyes. Turning his gaze back towards the house in time to see Coulson step from the house with Skye on his arm, he felt his breath catch as he took in the sight before him.

Skye’s hair, from what he could see from the front, was swept up off her shoulders, the elegant white satin and lace dress she wore clung lovingly to her curves, her feet he was pleased to see were _not_ in her combat boots as was her threat to Maria when the former assistant director had tried to get her into five inch high heels. Instead she wore pretty silver sandals with just a small heel. They made her feet look _gorgeous_ and Clint had to suck in a quick breath and drag his eyes back to her face.

Clint couldn’t tear his eyes off Skye as she glided down the red carpet on Coulson’s arm, a shy smile on her face even though he could feel her nerves through their bond. It wasn’t until they’d stopped right in front of him, while he was stepping forward to claim Skye’s arm from Coulson, that Clint noticed the antique silver necklace with a sapphire and diamond pendant around her neck.

He was positive that was his grandmother’s necklace, the one that she’d given to Barney when he and Clint had eventually managed to find her when Clint was fifteen. They hadn’t thought they’d had any family left, until Carly had apparently done some research and had located their mother’s mother in Iowa.

The last time he’d seen that necklace had been on Carly, the night she passed away, so how in the hell had Skye wound up with it? He’d turned a questioning gaze onto Barney, who had simply grinned at him with a slight shrug before mouthing _something borrowed, something blue_.

A tingle in the back of his neck along with the gentle pressure of Skye’s fingers around his wrist had Clint turning his attention back to her quickly, her dark brown eyes were blinking slowly and through their bond he could feel her amusement as her eyes flicked from him to the celebrant in clear indication he’d missed something.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” Clint said sheepishly with an apologetic grin to both Skye and the celebrant.

“I said, I understand the two of you have written your own vows?” The celebrant gave him an exasperated look before holding his hand out and continuing, “Also, do you have the rings?”

Thankfully Barney took the cue and eased the rings from the box and handed them to the celebrant as Clint did his best to try and recall his vows, he’d written them down for this very reason. However when he’d put his suit on earlier the cards had been missing from his jacket pocket. He took a deep breath and spoke from the heart.

“I call upon those here today, our friends, our family, to witness that I take you, Skye, as my wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, to honour and to nurture, as lover, companion and future father of your children. I promise you my heart and soul, my never ending love and fidelity. I offer you this ring as a physical symbol and forever reminder of my vows to you.”

Taking the smaller of the matching rings from the celebrant Clint turned to Skye, taking her left hand in his as he slid the ring onto her finger, all the while staring into her eyes.

Clint felt Skye’s fingers squeeze his before she eased her hand free to turn to the celebrant; he watched her slim fingers take the ring before she turned back to him, taking his hand into her own. He could feel her fingers trembling against his hand; Clint gave her a warm encouraging smile as she licked her lips.

“I take you, Clint, as my husband. All that I am and all that I have, I give to you with love and sincerity. I promise to love and comfort you, to care for and respect you. I vow to be caring and devoted to you and our future children. I promise to be faithful and true to you until the end of time. I offer you this ring as a physical symbol and forever reminder of my vows to you.”

The sudden feeling of relief Clint felt sweep through their bond as Skye slid the ring easily onto his left ring finger was surprising, he hadn’t realised she was still worried about him leaving her, especially not after they’d bonded. He was aching to kiss her, to chase those thoughts out of her head once and for all, but having to wait till the celebrant got to that part was hard.

“May I present for the first time Mr and Mrs Barton, you may now kiss the bride,” the celebrant announced giving Clint a pointed look as though the other man had _known_ he was anxious to get to that part.

Lightly tugging on Skye’s hand to pull her closer, Clint let go of her hand to settle one hand on her waist, the other curling around the back of her neck as he leant down to settle his mouth over hers. He’d intended for the kiss to be chaste and it had definitely started out as such, however the moment Skye’s hands had slipped beneath his jacket and around to the small of his back as she pressed into him with her lips parted invitingly his intentions nose dived off the cliff.

As the kiss turned heated and Clint’s tongue delved into Skye’s mouth exploring he turned his focus inward to their bond, it had flared to life in his mind like a fourth of July fireworks show. Skye’s tongue flicking against his started an intricate dance that was sending his blood rushing south, it was the combination of a throat clearing, a sharp prod to the ribs and the growled “Break it up or get a room, you two,” from Barney that had Clint kicking his libido out of the driver’s seat.

Pulling back from the kiss Clint couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as he took in the blush staining Skye’s cheeks moments before she buried her face into his chest to hide her embarrassment. Nuzzling against the top of Skye’s head he murmured quietly “We should probably go mingle with our friends, Mrs Barton.”


	28. Wedding Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has parts that are NSFW.

As the afternoon turned into night Skye had been quietly watching all her friends and adopted family getting progressively drunker, with the exception of May and Natasha, both of whom could apparently hold their alcohol better than most. She’d been careful with how much she was drinking, having the occasional glass of champagne but mostly sticking with orange juice; the last thing she wanted was to get completely drunk.

Fitz was currently dozing on the couch using Lucky as a pillow, a scene which Skye found seriously adorable. Pulling the blanket off the back of the couch over Fitz, Skye couldn’t help but smile.

In the kitchen Skye could hear Maria and Pepper already trying to coax ideas out of Jemma for things she’d like for her wedding, not that Bucky had actually asked her or anything as far as Skye knew, so she assumed the two women were just mentally taking notes.

Natasha, Bobbi and May had migrated to the lounge chairs around the pool not long ago, with the Russian’s favourite bottle of vodka if Skye wasn’t mistaken; slipping quietly from the lounge she was silently thankful for JARVIS as the lights dimmed.

Standing midway between the kitchen and the door leading out to the deck Skye was debating over her options, she could join the small group in the kitchen or the group by the pool. In the end she decided to quietly make her way upstairs, exhaustion getting the better of her, stepping into the room she’d been given the day before Skye didn’t even bother turning the light on instead relishing the soft moonlight ebbing in through the windows.

Skye crossed to the windows, looking out over the view she reached up to start pulling the bobby pins from her hair, though they soon wound up scattered on the floor as Clint’s voice rasped “You weren’t planning on retiring without me were you?”

“You looked like you were having fun; I didn’t have the heart to tear you away from them,” Skye said quietly as she turned to lean against the window, her mouth curving into a warm smile as she watched Clint shed his jacket and throw it haphazardly to the side.

The short sleeved white shirt he wore didn’t really surprise her, Skye was now rather used to it and she _really_ didn’t mind the view, Clint stopped in front of her with barely an inch between them as his hands settled on her hips.

“I’d much rather be here making love to my _wife_. It is _our_ wedding night after all.”

Skye couldn’t stop the shudder that wracked her body, whether it was from the cool glass of the window seeping through her dress or the husky drawl of Clint’s words she wasn’t sure.

“You are incorrigible, Clint,” Skye said with a soft chuckle as she draped her arms over Clint’s shoulders, pressing her body flush against his Skye cocked her head to one side and back slightly to nibble at his jaw.

“I think you secretly love that about me, Skye,” Clint rumbled as he lifted one hand to her hair, his calloused fingers twisting into the thick strands to tug gently till he was looking into her eyes “Or maybe not so secretly.”

“What can I say, you’re a bad influence,” Skye purred as she ran one hand over Clint’s shoulder and down his chest, she shifted enough to give her hand room to move as she worked her hand along his chest to press lightly against the growing bulge in his suit pants.

A rush of power surged through Skye as Clint growled, low in his throat, his hips grinding his confined erection into her hand as his mouth latched onto the side of her neck.

Pulling her hands away from Clint, Skye turned suddenly, planting her hands against the window; her head turned enough to look at Clint over her shoulder as she wriggled her ass back against his groin. Smirking as she heard the low huff of Clint’s sudden exhale, Skye felt Clint’s arm wrap around her waist as his other hand skimmed around her neck to the zipper of her dress.

The gentle rasp of her zipper sounded loud in the silent room as Clint eased it all the way down, his hand slipping beneath the parted material to splay over her back, drew a breathless gasp from Skye as it skimmed up her back. His other hand joined it to start easing the fabric down over her shoulders, pushing off the glass to straighten Skye let her back rest against Clint’s chest as he slowly manoeuvred her dress down her body.

When the satin and lace pooled at her feet Skye stepped easily out to one side, turned slightly and reached up to curl her fingers around Clint’s tie, tugging the tie gently she used it like a lead to draw Clint along with her towards the large bed. Bracing her hands against Clint’s chest Skye gave a gentle shove so that Clint bounced once before settling seated on the side of the bed, straddling his legs Skye sat down on his lap, her hands reaching up to work Clint’s tie loose.

Easing the tie over Clint’s head Skye dropped it carelessly to the floor, as her fingers began working on slipping the buttons of Clint’s shirt free she shuddered as his calloused fingers grazed upwards along her spine. It didn’t take her long to figure out what Clint was doing, especially when she felt his fingers trace along the bottom of her bra before it suddenly fell across her legs.

Her fingers faltered as Clint’s hands glided around her ribs and up to cup her breasts, kneading gently as his head dipped so he could fasten his mouth over her clavicle, the combined sensations drawing an embarrassing mewl from her throat. Fumbling to slip the last button free Skye slid her hands slowly upwards along Clint’s bared chest, slipping beneath the fabric of his shirt she pushed it off over his shoulders, tugging it down his arms.

Pushing herself off Clint’s lap Skye took a step back, running her hands along the column of her throat and down over her chest slowly, head tilted slightly as she watched Clint lean forward, licking at his lower lip. Lifting one of her feet to rest on his thigh, Skye arched one brow in silent question as she gently nudged his thigh, calloused fingers soon curled around her ankle as Clint’s free hand eased the sandal from her foot before repeating the process. Gliding her hands over her taut stomach Skye grinned wickedly as Clint reached out to grab her, she darted back out of his reach with a soft laugh as her thumbs hooked beneath the waistband of her panties.

“Skye,” Clint groaned, watching as she shimmed her hips and eased the white fabric down her slender legs, he flopped back onto the mattress with a low growled “Sweetheart, you’re killing me here.”

“ _I’m_ killing you? I’m not the one still wearing pants,” came Skye’s soft retort moments before he _felt_ the brush of her fingers up his thighs, Clint lifted his head to look down the length of his body just as Skye’s tongue darted into his navel.

He felt the gentle tug on his belt buckle as Skye’s fingers fumbled blindly to unfasten it, her silky hair splayed out across his stomach tickling his heated skin as she slowly nipped her way along the fine trail of hair from his navel to where it disappeared beneath his pants.

The quiet rasp of his zipper and the brush of Skye’s fingers dipping beneath the waistband had Clint awkwardly lifting his hips, his own hands moving to push at his suit pants and boxers as Skye’s fingers curled into the waistbands and pulled. Feeling the mattress dip Clint lifted his head again to look down his body just as Skye started to crawl up over him, her head lowered to occasionally nip at his skin meant that her hair was also tickling along his leg.

Skye’s mouth brushing over the scar left behind by Loki had Clint’s head dropping back to the mattress with a soft hiss, there were times he’d swear that scar was cold as ice but the moment Skye’s tongue ran along it the sensation vanished and was replaced with warmth instead seeping into him.

When the teasing strokes of Skye’s tongue ceased Clint forced his eyes open, looking up at Skye as she straddled his waist Clint groaned as she reached down, her soft fingers curling around his achingly hard cock and stroking tentatively. Sucking in a sharp breath as Skye slowly sank down onto his cock, Clint reached up to close his hands about her hips as she gently rocked them until she sat flush against his pelvis with a soft sigh.

Bringing his legs up to plant his feet on the mattress Clint grinned wolfishly as his thighs bumped against Skye’s ass causing her to topple forward until her hands braced on his pectorals to help her keep her position. Looking up into her face as Skye quirked one delicate brow in silent question Clint gave a slight shrug at the same time he gently guided her hips to move as he thrust up a little.

They fell into a slow, tender rhythm, Skye rocking her hips into his thrusts and Clint helping her to slide up and down his thighs so she could ride him, he had a niggling feeling in the back of his mind that he wasn’t going to last long given his exhaustion.

Though when he looked up to Skye’s face and saw the way she was chewing at her lower lip as her head tilted back he knew she was hovering right on the edge of her climax, when she started rocking harder into his languid thrusts Clint’s hands tightened on her hips.

Taking advantage of Skye’s next glide up his thighs Clint rolled them so that Skye wound up beneath him, her body settling against the mattress had him almost completely withdrawn from her hot, slick welcoming core. Gliding his hands from her hips up along her ribcage Clint rocked forward on his knees thrusting harder into Skye, her quiet moan had Clint moving his hands off her ribs and up to circle around her wrists.

With a gentle tug Clint pulled Skye’s warm, soft hands from his chest and manoeuvred them up over her head, he released his grip on her wrists in order to slide his hands along her wrists to twine their fingers together. On his next thrust into her Clint dropped his head to capture Skye’s mouth with his own, swallowing the moan that had just been about to slip free.

Skye’s legs tightening at his sides as her heels dug into his ass had Clint growling deep in his chest, the sound muted by her mouth, picking up the pace of his thrusts Clint moved frantically against Skye, the fluttering of her inner muscles around his cock driving him wild.

As her muscles clenched down tightly around him Clint found Skye’s breasts pressed firmly against his chest as her back arched, her shoulders digging into the mattress as her fingers tightened around his. One solid thrust had him buried deep inside Skye’s quivering core as his own climax erupted, bursting free in hot streaming bursts that had him breaking their kiss with a guttural groan, his body slumping against hers as they both rode out the aftershocks of their orgasms together.

Once both their bodies had stilled Clint rolled off Skye, settling on his side facing her he suspected neither of them really had the energy to move beneath the covers, when Skye rolled to face him one of her hands reaching blindly above her head returned with a pillow, she positioned it beneath both their heads as he reached back behind him to grab the quilt and pull it over them like a cocoon.

“Get some rest Sweetheart; we’ve got an early start in the morning. Nat and Bucky are going to drop us off at our honeymoon location first thing.” Clint murmured softly as his forehead rested against Skye’s so he could look into her sleepy brown eyes.

“Hmm, it’s not like I have a choice. I was tired to begin with and now I’m utterly exhausted,” Skye mumbled sleepily as she snuggled into the warmth of Clint’s muscular body.

Chuckling softly Clint tucked the quilt around them as Skye snuggled in against him, he knew when she got comfortable as her breathing slowed and it wasn’t long before he followed her into sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning had been a blur thus far, after pouring two large travel mugs of coffee and grabbing two apples Clint had made his way aboard the quinjet following a drowsy Skye who had dropped heavily in the nearest seat. He’d handed over one of the apples and mugs of coffee, setting his own on the seat beside Skye as he’d crouched to fasten her restraints for her, settling himself beside her he’d started on his own breakfast.

“We’ll be landing soon,” Natasha called from the front of the quinjet.

When the quinjet touched down a couple of minutes later Clint unfastened his restraints before pushing out of the seat and moving to collect his dufflebag and Skye’s, slinging one over his shoulder, he carried the other in his hand. Turning towards Skye as she rose he held out his free hand, a smile spreading on his face as her fingers curled around his.

Guiding her to the rear of the quinjet Clint felt his stomach tighten with nerves as they descended down the lowering ramp, his eyes quickly darted about the farm assessing his surroundings before settling on the farmhouse. He felt Skye pull to a stop as she sucked in a sharp breath, when he turned she was staring wide eyed, her eyes flicking rapidly from the expanse acreage to the barn and finally coming to rest on the house.

“Clint,” Skye squeaked as she blinked slowly and tried to figure out what exactly she was going to say next. “This is a _farm_? Why are we on a farm?”

“Very astute, Skye. This is indeed a farm, to be precise it’s _our_ farm and I thought it’d be a good place to spend our honeymoon?” Clint said casually, he’d thought it a good idea at first but now that he was watching Skye and the way she was suddenly swallowing rapidly, her eyes wide as her boot scuffed the ground nervously.

“Clint, I’m a city girl I’ve _never_ been anywhere near a farm, least of all know what the fuck to do with one!” Skye’s voice cracked slightly and she was vaguely aware of Natasha and Bucky’s amused chuckles from behind her, turning her head slightly she glared half heartedly at the two assassins, now in full blown laughter as she snapped “Oh laugh it up, you two, I have no qualms about knocking the both of you on your asses for not even thinking to warn me about this.”

“I’ll teach you what I know Skye, and what neither of us knows we’ll learn together. I was thinking that maybe this would be our family home?” Clint was starting to feel a little sheepish now about not discussing this with Skye beforehand, he hadn’t realised she’d been mostly a city girl nor that she’d have a slight freak out. “I won’t lie, the house needs a lot of work, but we could make it ours. I’m willing to put in the hard work to fix it up however you like.”

He watched as Skye gave the house an assessing once over before turning her gaze to the acreage and barn with her hands on her hips, Clint heard her sharp exhale before she turned back to him muttering “I swear to god Clinton Francis Barton, if I get kicked by a horse or bitten by a cow I’m so kicking your ass.”

Clint couldn’t stop the low rumble of laughter that burst free even though it had Skye glaring at him, even as she walked up and firmly punched him in the shoulder his laughter still continued as he spoke “Sweetheart, we don’t even _have_ any livestock yet so I think you’re safe.”

 


	29. Unexpected Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Time with their awkwardly large family and there are unexpected surprises for everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For now this is the end to the story. When I eventually get it written Jemma and Bucky's Reunion scene will be tacked onto the end as a bonus. Apologies for it taking so long I had real life dramas and the worst case of Writer's block. This chapter is dedicated to the wonderful ladies on Tumblr who have been godsends in our little chat for helping me to get this chapter finished. So many thanks to Ozhawk, Shini, Moon, Luna, Vulpe, Winter and anyone else I may have missed.

The farmhouse had been coming together well over the past months, during the course of their month-long honeymoon Clint and Skye had worked out exactly what they had in mind for the large two story house. It had started out a run down mess but they’d so far managed to convert it into a homely six bedroom two bathroom house, three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs and the other three bedrooms and bathroom downstairs.

They didn’t spend all their time there, of course. They had responsibilities with the Avengers, but the farmhouse was their special place, and they made time to go there regularly. For the last few weeks, they’d been there full-time since Skye felt she couldn’t use her power safely at the moment and preferred to avoid situations where she might have to.

Clint’s current project was sanding back the floor in the rear sunroom, they’d only just finished redoing the kitchen a couple of weeks ago which had prompted Clint’s suggestion of inviting both their teams/families over for Christmas. He’d seemed so excited by the prospect that she hadn’t had the heart to refuse him, which was how she now found herself alternating between setting the three tables set up in the dining room and checking the turkey and pie in the oven.

As it was Skye still had yet to get changed and Clint was in the barn, _supposedly_ checking on the fridge though she found it more likely that he was out there with his bow practising. Their overly large, extremely weird family were due to arrive anytime within the next hour, so setting out the last of the cutlery Skye turned on her sock clad feet and padded towards the stairs, idly rubbing at her back. She figured that she’d have time for a quick shower before dressing and heading back downstairs to start unloading the oven.

Moving into the bathroom Skye reached into the shower to start the water and then started to peel off her sweaty, dirty clothing and dumping it into the washing basket before she stepped into the shower and eased beneath the spray of water. The only qualm she had with the farmhouse currently was the bathrooms, the hot water took a while to get going some days and the showers were cramped when they both were in there. Clint was continually promising that the bathrooms would be his next project once he was done with the sunroom, but he was very firm about finishing one project before he started another, and she wanted a hot, high-pressure shower _now_ , dammit!

Closing her eyes as she stepped under the spray of water Skye took a few moments just to relish the feel of the warm water easing the tension from her muscles. The gentle brush of lips against her shoulder had Skye leaning back into the solid muscle of Clint’s chest.

“Here’s my baby mama, you feeling okay, Sweetheart?” Clint rumbled by her ear as his arms slipped around her waist so his calloused hands could settle on the large swell of her belly.

“Felt better, _your_ child has decided today is a good day to kick the crap out of me,” Skye mumbled as she turned her head to place a kiss on his jaw, his rumble of laughter was met by her elbow jabbing back into his ribs as she growled “Not funny, Clint, this kid is using my kidneys and bladder as soccer balls!”

“I’m sorry, Skye,” Clint said quietly as he pulled Skye back tighter into his chest, his hands stroking soothingly over her belly, when their child kicked against his hand Clint’s hands stilled as Skye sucked in a breath. It wasn’t the first time he’d felt the baby move, of course, at first every time he’d tried to feel it the baby had stilled; Skye joked constantly that the baby had inherited the Barton family stubborn streak. Every time, though, Clint would still and press his hands against Skye’s stomach, a look of wonder coming to his face.

Turning in Clint’s arms Skye wrapped her arms around him, well as much as she could given her belly distancing them somewhat, with a soft smile she whispered “Don’t be sorry, it’s all part of the process or so Jemma keeps telling me when I hear from her.”

“You complain now darlin’, but I don’t hear you complaining when the pregnancy hormones ramp up your sex drive,” Clint teased as he leant down to brush a kiss against Skye’s forehead.

“You’re not usually complaining then either, lover,” Skye threw back even as Clint reached around her to shut off the water. As he backed out of the shower and helped her out Skye took the offered towel and wrapped herself up in it.

Padding down the hall on bare feet to their bedroom Skye had earlier decided what she was going to wear and had laid it out ready on the bed, unfastening the towel she dried her body quickly and pulled on the unflattering, yet comfortable maternity underwear and sports bra. Lifting the towel to her hair to dry it she turned and while rubbing her hair in the towel caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. Frowning she dropped the towel on the bed and turned slightly her fingers lightly tracing the faint stretch marks just starting to show on her belly.

“God, I look and feel so fat and unattractive,” Skye muttered quietly as her gaze dropped to her belly, her hands crossing gently over it.

“Hey now, don’t start on that, sweetheart,” Clint said quietly as he pulled his clean boxers on, crossing to Skye he pulled her back against his chest so they were both facing the mirror, his mouth dropping by her ear as he continued “You’re beautiful, you’re absolutely glowing. You’re carrying _our_ child and it’s made no difference whatsoever in how I see you.”

Looking up Skye met Clint’s eyes in the mirror. Smiling warmly and turning around, she rose up on her tip toes to brush a kiss against his cheek, murmuring “Thank you.”

From downstairs Lucky suddenly started barking incessantly, which prompted Clint to move from Skye to the window. As he pulled the curtains back Skye heard the unmistakable sound of a quinjet descending. Turning back to the bed Skye pulled on her black stretchy maternity jeans and the purple cowl neck maternity shirt, sitting on the end of the bed she started to awkwardly pull on the pair of thick socks she’d laid out.

She was still trying to get the first sock on as her gaze drifted to Clint just as he was pulling his purple short sleeved shirt on, his fingers deftly making quick work of fastening the buttons. Skye blew out an annoyed breath and went back to trying to pull the sock on, making Clint smile as he crossed to the bed.

“Here, let me give you a hand with that Skye,” Clint settled to his knees in front of Skye, took the sock from her hand and lifted her foot to his thigh with his free hand.

“Thanks,” Skye whispered quietly, it was embarrassing that she now had to rely on Clint to help her with her socks and shoes but the truth was she currently couldn’t _see_ her feet let alone pull anything onto them. She’d also had to _borrow_ a pair of Clint’s well loved combat boots to wear, her own shoes currently being far too tight for her swollen feet.

Once both her feet were back on the floor Skye laughed softly when Clint leant down to kiss her stomach, ruffling his hair briefly Skye pushed him back gently, watching as he rose easily to his feet. Holding both her hands out Skye closed her hands lightly around Clint’s, pushing up onto her feet as he gently pulled.

After brushing her hair Skye turned and started towards the door, lightly swatting Clint on the ass as he was bent over tying his boots she teased “Shake it babe.”

When Clint wiggled his ass before straightening Skye couldn’t help the girlish giggle that slipped out as she stepped in to wrap her arm around his waist, though the creak and bang of the screen door echoed through the house signalled the arrival of some of their guests just then.

“Game time, huh? I better go check on the oven, if I burn the turkey I’m pretty sure there are at _least_ four women coming who’d kick my ass for it.” Placing a kiss on Clint’s cheek Skye headed out of their room, moving carefully down the stairs she was met by the sight of Steve flat on his ass on the snow-covered front lawn with Lucky draped over him.

“Hey Clint, you might want to go rescue Steve from Lucky before he ends up soaked.” Skye called back up the stairs before making her way into the kitchen.

“Skye!” Jemma was the first to see her and rush over for a hug, but Natasha and Bobbi weren’t far behind. “Oh wow, you’ve gotten so big!” Jemma said tactlessly.

“Thanks, needed that, Jemma, I already know I look like a whale,” Skye said a bit grumpily.

“You look beautiful,” Natasha corrected, elbowing Jemma aside. “Glowing.”

“And I bet Clint thinks so too,” Bobbi bent to kiss her cheek. “You look lovely.”

“You do, yes, that’s what I meant!” Jemma defended her _faux pas_. “Like some kind of fabulous fertility goddess.”

That made Skye laugh. “Where’s May?” she asked then.

“You honestly thought we’d let Melinda May in a kitchen?” Natasha’s eyebrows shot up. “We need to _eat_ this food, Skye.”

While Natasha had a point there that was _not_ something Skye would ever say aloud anywhere near May, she liked being in one piece far too much to bash her former SO’s lack of cooking talent in her presence.

“Nat…..sometimes I swear you have a death wish and in May’s defence she is more a hunter, gatherer than a slaving over a hot stove type of person,” Skye said with a grin as she crossed to the oven. Pulling the mitts on she opened the door and reached in to pull out the first of the pies only to find herself mittless as Natasha whisked them off her and began to remove the pies herself.

She’d been practising her pies since Clint had suggested hosting Christmas, the last thing Skye had wanted to do was place a terrible pie on the table in front of her family. Clint hadn’t seemed overly concerned by the sudden influx of homemade pie for dessert and snacks; in fact she’d walked downstairs just the other day at three in the morning to find him sitting at the table digging into a huge piece of apple pie with a large serving of ice cream.

“So I may have broken tradition here, I only made one pumpkin pie but I also have apple and cinnamon and an apple and berry one I can reheat as well.” Skye said as she closed the oven door again, smiling at Natasha as the Russian leaned over the table, happily inhaling the flavoursome vapour rising from the hot apple pie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was late afternoon by the time lunch was over, and by _over_ Skye meant by the time Steve and Bucky had eaten their fill and had then graciously volunteered to do the dishes. Clint, Tony, Mack and Hunter were in the sunroom playing darts and sharing stories, Skye suspected there was also a bullshit contest happening as well from the roars of laughter and heckling shouts that regularly reached her ears.

The rest of their awkwardly large ‘family’ were spread around the lounge in various stages of slumber, Skye herself was propped against the door jamb leading from the kitchen to the lounge. Her gaze would occasionally flick back to the pair of super soldiers at the sink, usually when she heard one of them laugh. It was as Skye was turning back to the lounge that she caught sight of something unexpected.

Awkwardly pushing off the door jam Skye waddled (there was no other way to describe how she was currently moving while this heavily pregnant and stuffed full of Christmas lunch) through the kitchen and into the sunroom, slipping past Hunter and Mack to stand behind Clint, just as he threw his dart she asked “So how long have Barney and Maria been sleeping together?”

“What!” came the dual incredulously squawks from Clint and Tony who’d both whirled to look at her like she’d just grown another head.

“Barney, Maria, how long have they been fooling around?” Skye spoke slowly and clearly.

“No, no they’re not, they can’t be, I’d know, JARVIS would have shared that information,” Tony rambled.

“Sweetheart, I think the hormones are addling your brain, Hill would _never_ go for my brother,” Clint murmured as he moved to wrap his arm around Skye’s shoulders.

“Not the hormones, Hawkass, your brother and Maria are canoodling on our porch swing, right now,” Skye stated flatly even as Hunter’s laugh filled the room from behind her.

“Well she’s not wrong, Barton. They are indeed canoodling, and really Skye, _canoodling_? Have you been reading Bobbi’s rubbish romance novels? You know that rubbish rots your brain,” Hunter piped up.

“Wait, _why_ wouldn’t Maria go for your brother? Barney is a great guy and can be really sweet when he wants to be,” Skye grumped irritably before adding “I dare you to tell that to Bobbi, Hunter. Besides,” she couldn’t resist a poke to the former mercenary’s ribs, “a little bird told me that _you_ read those novels as well.”

Hunter spluttered indignantly as Skye laughed and turned back to Clint, raising her brows at him.

“Hill is a ball breaker Sweetheart, Junior agents used to refer to her as the Ice Queen,” Clint supplied even as he turned, pulling Skye against his side, and started walking them both to the sunroom door that led out onto the porch.

“So? She’d be a good fit for Barney, she wouldn’t take his shit just like she never took yours, she’d help keep him from falling back into old habits and they both deserve to be happy.” Leaning into Clint, Skye rested her head against his shoulder, doing her best to hide her grin when she realised Clint was sneaking them around the porch in order to see for himself.

“You _may_ have a point, if in fact what you and Hunter say you saw is true,” Clint reluctantly admitted as he guided Skye round the corner of the house only to pull to a stop, his eyes locked on the pair seated on the porch swing enthusiastically making out. “Oh come on! _Charles_ , get a room, I don’t need you defiling our porch swing.”

“Like _you_ haven’t defiled it enough, Clinton,” Barney muttered a little breathless as he pulled back from Maria, who was uncharacteristically snickering under her breath.

“Actually, I don’t think we have defiled it _yet,_ Barney. That is definitely one that will be waiting until I’m not pregnant to attempt,” Skye quipped as her eyes flicked to Maria she tacked on, “But please feel free to defile it if you wish.”

“You’re seriously encouraging him?” Clint threw his hands up exaggeratedly. “I give up.”

Skye pinched his ass. “Like we haven’t been caught a few times _defiling_ some public spot. Mack’s still bitching that he has to buy way more bleach than he used to.”

“I’m not bleaching your porch swing, Tremors, you can do it yourself,” Mack rumbled behind her, having followed them out of the house.

“Are you seriously encouraging them too, Mack?” Clint scoffed.

“Eh,” Mack shrugged, in his calm, laid-back way. “Everyone deserves to be happy, Hawkeye.” He eyed Clint steadily.

“They’re so cute together!” crooned Skye.

“I think _cute_ is the last word I’d describe my brother,” he paused, then muttered under his breath, “Or Hill for that matter.”

“You’re lucky you’re not in SHIELD anymore, or her for that matter, or your ass would be grass,” Skye stage whispered in Clint’s direction as she heard the porch door squeak as it opened again.

“Food, anyone?” Steve’s voice called.

“Urgh, no, I’m stuffed,” Skye responded immediately. “We don’t all have super-soldier appetites! But there’s plenty, Steve, I don’t think that pumpkin pie was even touched yet.”

“There was pumpkin? I tried the apple...why didn’t anyone tell me there was pumpkin?” Steve muttered quietly.

“Come on punk, I’ll join you,” Bucky chimed in from behind Skye, drawing a startled squeak from her.

“Damnit, Barnes. I need to put a bell on you,” Skye muttered as she spun and glared up at Bucky who was grinning like the blasted Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. She rubbed at her back unconsciously. Damn backache was getting worse by the minute.

Meeting Bucky’s bright blue eyes Skye frowned at the way he cocked his head, eyes raking over her before pointedly zeroing in on where her hands disappeared behind her back. Before she could make a make a remark about about it being rude to stare Skye winced as cramps suddenly flared in her stomach.

“I think I ate too much,” Skye muttered as she moved one hand to rub over her stomach.

She could hear Clint and Barney quietly bickering as her gaze remained locked with Bucky’s, out of the corner of her eye she suddenly caught a blur of movement Skye turned her head in time to see both Clint and Barney go toppling over the railing. Turning towards the door she called back “Barney, don’t break him, okay? I’m not done with his ass yet.”

“You got it, princess,” Barney shouted out over Clint’s sudden squawking protests.

“Come on you two knuckleheads, I’ll get you both some pumpkin pie,” Skye announced fondly to both Steve and Bucky as she waddled towards the door Steve was holding open, faintly aware of the soft click of Maria’s boot heels following behind her.

Once back in the kitchen, Skye grabbed two of the clean bowls from the dishrack as Steve pulled open the fridge. Cocking her head slightly while he took a hesitant step back, she took pity on the poor guy and supplied, “Bottom shelf Steve.”

He bent to retrieve the pie and Skye winced, her hands dropping to clench at the edge of the counter. The dual sensation of sharp cramping in her stomach and the flare of pain in her back brought tears to her eyes. Jerking at the sudden hand rubbing her back Skye looked up at Bucky and opened her mouth to speak just as there was a sudden rush of wetness between her legs.

Eyes widening, Skye flicked her gaze to the sudden puddle on the floor of the kitchen, she couldn’t get her brain working; it was frozen on a looping thought of _oh shit, this can’t be happening, not here, not now_.

She was grateful when she didn’t have to try and call out, instead Bucky’s voice echoed through the kitchen as he called out “Jemma? I think Skye’s waters just broke.”

Skye couldn’t help the strangled laugh that slipped free at the utterly panicked expression on Steve’s face as he looked at her, at Jemma and Natasha’s sudden arrival she waved her hand slightly in his direction and managed to huff; “Take the whole pie and ice cream tub in the other room, you two.”

“Even while she’s about to give birth, she’s still thinking about pie and ice cream,” Natasha snorts.

“I can’t deliver a baby,” Jemma stammered as her gaze darted frantically from the pool on the floor to Skye and then to Bucky as she added “I’m not that kind of Doctor.”

“I can do it,” Natasha stated calmly, adding on “and if there’s any difficulties I’m pretty sure Bruce knows what to do.”

As Natasha’s quip suddenly registered Skye scowled at the ex Russian and snapped irritably “I’m not the one eating it, and I don’t want Steve making a bigger mess on my floor than I already have!”

“Speaking of which, has anyone told Barton yet?” since said man was still outside brawling with his brother.

“Oh please let me,” Maria offered with far too much enthusiasm for Skye’s liking.

Before Skye could request that Maria _not_ scare ten years off Clint’s life she found herself swung easily up into Bucky’s arms, the super soldier already moving towards the stairs with Natasha in tow as Jemma went scurrying to find her medical bag and call for Bruce to wake up from his somnolent doze on the couch.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, the pain that washed over Skye had her letting out a piercing wail, her nails digging into Bucky’s flesh shoulder as she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus on her breathing.

The sudden bang of the fly screen door had Skye’s eyes flying wide open and coming to rest on both Clint and Barney, both of whom had snow in their hair and looked ready for battle. Her eyes moved past the two to where the door was now hanging slightly askew on its hinges as she whimpered “You broke the screen door _again_ Clint.”

“Again?” Maria inquired curiously. “Exactly how many times _has_ he broken the door?”

“Uhm, I refuse to answer that on the grounds of severe pain and the fact I have a being the size of a watermelon trying to push its way out of a hole the size of a lemon?” Skye panted as Bucky started up the stairs the sound of Clint’s puzzled _What?_ drifting up the stairs behind them.

“Your wife is giving birth, dumbass,” Barney smacked Clint on the back of his head.

“B-birth?” Skye swore she could hear Clint swallow loudly from all the way up the stairs..

After Bucky set her down on the bed, where thankfully Jemma had already pulled back the quilt and top sheet, Skye focused on her breathing as her next contraction hit, aware of Natasha muttering quietly in Russian to Bucky who was nodding on his way out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hours flew past as Skye’s labour progressed, her modesty maintained by an old loose t-shirt of Clint’s and the top sheet draped over her legs, Jemma was sitting behind her back occasionally dabbing at her forehead with a damp wash cloth and murmuring encouraging words. Fisting her hands in the sheet at her bent knees as the next contraction hit Skye was trying not to focus on the fact that Natasha and Bruce were kneeling by her feet peering beneath the sheet.

The door to the bedroom burst inwards jerking the room’s attention to the new arrival. Skye groaned quietly partly due to pain and partly due to the sight of Clint staggering a little as he crossed to the bed and dropped down heavily beside her bouncing her slightly.

“Hey,” Clint slurred slightly, his eyes blinking slowly as his chin dropped to rest on Skye’s shoulder.

She could smell the whiskey on Clint’s breath, her nose wrinkling up slightly as he huffed softly and made shooing gestures at Jemma, as Clint was awkwardly sliding in behind her where Jemma had been Skye muttered “Are you drunk?”

“Little bit, Stark said something ‘bout me needing liquid courage before coming up here,” Clint drawled lazily against her ear, pressing himself in against her back he ran his hands lightly along her arms and down to her hands.

“I swear to god if you pass out on me Clinton Francis Barton you’ll be sleeping on the couch and Tony Stark will be eating his balls!” Skye howled in the midst of her next contraction, her fingers curling between Clint’s and squeezing firmly.

There was low murmuring between the pair at her feet that Skye wasn’t even trying to hear, as the contraction subsided her grip on Clint’s fingers eased she let her head loll back on Clint’s shoulder, blinking up at Jemma as the cool cloth swiped across her forehead.

“The baby’s crowning, Skye,” Natasha murmured quietly with a squeeze to Skye’s knee, her eyes flicking to Bruce briefly before she continued “so we need you to try and push on the next contraction, okay?”

Nodding slightly in acknowledgement Skye shifted her grip on Clint’s hands, curling her fingers around his palms and squeezing tightly with a strangled cry as her next contraction began. Pressing back into Clint, Skye bit down on her lower lip as she pushed, vaguely aware of Clint’s soft grunt of pain before he started murmuring reassurances, his lips brushing her ear.

“That’s it, Sweetheart.” He _sounded_ a lot less drunk, suddenly. “There’s my brave, wonderful girl. Nearly there. You’re doing so well.”

She tried to focus on Clint through their bond to distract herself from the pain, and it worked to some small extent as she suddenly felt a little buzzed, as though she herself had been drinking. Dropping her head back against Clint’s shoulder as her contraction passed Skye panted, trying to draw breath, she caught sight of Jemma inching towards the foot of the bed to take a look before suddenly straightening and looking a little pale as she moved back to Skye’s side.

“Almost there Skye, we just need to get little Barton’s shoulders out and it’ll go smoother,” Natasha purred reassuringly before muttering “though it looks like they have their father’s shoulders.”

Clint snorted at that before nuzzling into Skye’s hair, his voice hoarse and low as he murmured “You can do this, Skye.”

“Uhg,” Skye muttered softly, her fingers tightening again around Clint’s hands, her shoulders pushing back into Clint’s chest as she pushed with her latest contraction. She was tired, she was sore and she just wanted this kid out _now_.

Slumping back against Clint the sudden wail that filled the room had Skye releasing the breath she wasn’t even aware she’d been holding, vaguely aware of the flurry of movement at her feet she relaxed back against Clint closing her eyes for a few moments to await news.

When the cry sounded again, closer this time though Skye’s eyes fluttered open wearily just as the mattress dipped with the addition of Natasha’s weight by Skye’s hip as she drawled quietly “Congratulations, you have a beautiful, _big_ bouncing baby boy.”

“Have you decided upon a name yet?” Jemma asked curiously as she peered down at the baby bundled in a thick fluffy towel in Natasha’s arms.

Skye hummed an exhausted acknowledgement as she lifted her hand towards the wrapped bundle Natasha was cradling protectively, her hand felt like a dead weight on the end of her arm. If she wanted to get technical her entire body currently felt like a dead weight and yet she still had an overwhelming urge to try and hold their son.

“We discussed a few options,” Clint drawled lazily before his lips were suddenly brushing against her temple causing a content sigh to slip free of Skye, she knew by his silence he was trying to recall which names they’d decided upon months ago. Eventually his voice broke the silence as he tentatively supplied “I think we decided on Cooper Matthew?”

A delicate yet strong hand closed around Skye’s, which had her blinking and trying to focus her now slightly blurry eyes on Natasha, she was aware of the other woman leaning in closer till they were cheek to cheek and Natasha softly murmured “Just rest still, _sestra_. Cooper needs to try to feed, but you don’t have to do anything. Clint and I will help you.”

Skye lay limp against Clint as Natasha gently transferred their son to his father’s capable hands. Natasha then lifted one of Skye’s hands carefully to Cooper’s head; she found herself gently stroking the damp hair which fluffed slightly under her fingers as it dried, barely noticing as Natasha lifted her T-shirt up.

Cooper was strong, turning his little head and rooting eagerly against Skye’s breast; she gasped at the odd sensation, feeling the pull low down in her stomach as he started to suckle, Natasha holding his head just right.

Skye felt an unexpected wetness against her cheek then; turning her head she found the tears pouring down Clint’s cheek as he watched their son suckle at her breast.

“Hey,” she managed to get out. “It’s okay, Clint. Everything’s okay.”

Natasha’s eyes were moist too as she watched her best friend rejoice in the family he’d never had. Watched him press tender kisses to his soulmate’s brow as her eyes closed and she fell into contented slumber, the newborn still feeding eagerly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Four Years Later**

Skye was sitting on the downstairs toilet staring blankly at the plastic stick in her hand, the positive result temporarily rattling her brain beyond coherent thought. Glass shattering just down the hallway jerked her from her daze, rushing out of the bathroom she skidded into the kitchen.

All Skye’s senses were on alert as her eyes rapidly scanned the kitchen, they narrowed briefly on the shattered window over the sink before dropping to the floor. Spotting the arrow lying on the tiles she sighed, crossed the room and stooped over to pick it up.

Making her way outside and down off the porch Skye crossed the lawn to where her husband and son stood, Cooper with bow in hand aimed towards the target. The target was off towards the barn so how in the hell the arrow had gone through the kitchen window was beyond her.

“Clinton Francis, didn’t we talk about this?” Skye groused while waving the arrow towards the pair as she continued; “I thought we agreed he was too young to learn archery.”

“It’s Barney’s fault, he bought Cooper the bow,” was Clint’s retort that had Skye rolling her eyes.

“That may be so, _Hawkass_ , but _you_ were the one teaching him to shoot it. That makes it _your_ fault that his arrow went through the kitchen window!” Skye shot back irritably.

Stepping up to Clint, Skye shoved the arrow into Clint’s hand, bent to press a kiss to the top of her son’s head as she turned and started back towards the house grumbling “I really hope this time it’s a little girl.”

“If it’s a girl, Nat will just teach her how to throw knives!” Clint called out as an automatic response, he was mid way through repositioning Cooper’s stance before Skye’s words registered. Jerking his attention from his son, he watched his wife making her way back to the porch and called out “Wait, what?”

As Skye turned back towards them, Clint watched as her mouth curved into a warm grin as she lifted her arm and threw a plastic stick in his direction. Automatically snatching it out of the air he glanced down at it, confused, as Cooper tugged at his shirt excitedly asking “Daddy, am I getting a little sister?”

Staring at the positive pregnancy test briefly, Clint’s eyes darted back to Skye both his eyebrows climbing towards his hairline in silent question. His only response from his wife was a slight shrug as she headed back into the house, he assumed to clean up the broken glass.

Making a mental note to board up the window later he settled a hand on Cooper’s head and ruffled his hair lightly, looking down into his son’s dark brown eyes he answered honestly “I don’t know little man, could be a little sister or a little brother in a few months times.”

“Cool! I hope it’s a little sister.” Cooper cheered excitedly, before turning his attention back to the target set up across the way, biting his lower lip he looked back up at his father and asked “Is mommy mad about the window?”

“Only with daddy, little man. Don’t you worry, mommy can never stay mad at me for long,” Clint replied, more hopefully than confidently as he tucked the pregnancy test stick in his shirt pocket and crouched down behind Cooper to recommence the archery lesson.

 


	30. An Extravagant Proposal (Bonus Scene)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This scene was written by Ozhawk as part of her Valentine's Day holiday drabbles. She oh so graciously gave me permission to add it into I Can Jump. . . No!

Clint and Barney were Up To Something. They kept whispering in corners and disappearing with Lucky. Skye had been too distracted and busy to notice at first, but after a few days she realised that they never seemed to be around when she was looking for them. Clint looked innocent (but felt guilty through their bond) when she asked, so she cornered Barney.

“Um,” Barney was definitely not as good a liar as Clint, so when he said nothing she just raised an eyebrow and waited silently. “It’s a surprise. For you. For Valentine’s Day,” he capitulated in the end. “Please don’t make me ruin it.”

He gave her a pathetic look and Skye laughed. “All right. But only because Valentine’s is in two days, or you might be in trouble, buster.”

Stark was throwing a big party for Valentine’s Day - any excuse for a party, Skye thought with amusement - so she guessed whatever ‘surprise’ the boys had been up to was intended for that. Clint came up with some gorgeous flowers and chocolates in the early morning anyway, so she was hardly deprived for romance.

The party was in full swing, everyone having a roaring good time, when a piercing whistle suddenly cut through the noise. Everyone quieted and turned to look for the source.

Barney stood at the open elevator doors, Lucky at his side. He nodded to Clint, who was perched behind Skye on the back of the couch, before letting go of Lucky’s collar.

Lucky came trotting straight through the crowd to Skye, head held high, something in his mouth, ignoring the hands that reached out to pet him. As he got closer Skye realised he was carrying one of Clint’s arrows. Reaching her, he sat down on his haunches and laid the arrow in her lap.

“Good boy, good boy,” Skye chuckled softly, giving Lucky a pat. The labrador woofed softly with pleasure at the praise, nudging at her hand.

“There’s something on the arrow,” Jemma, sitting beside Skye, leaned forward to look.

“So there is,” Skye said softly, catching the gleam of bright metal. She glanced back at Clint, who leaned forward and said softly,

“The head of the arrow unscrews.”

She smiled, and picked up the arrow. Carefully unscrewed the head and handed it back to Clint, who pocketed it, and tipped the shaft up.

A circle of vibranium fell into her palm, little diamonds set flush into the surface all around the edge. It was perfect for Skye; it wouldn’t catch on anything when she worked, and the vibranium was impervious to the vibrations she sent out through her hands. It was worth a king’s ransom, not that Tony had cared when Clint told him what he needed.

Clint swung agilely off the back off the couch and went to kneel at Skye’s feet - though he had to nudge Lucky out of the way to do it. Taking the ring from Skye’s hand, uncaring that all eyes were on them, he said;

“Will you marry me?”


End file.
